Bless The Broken Road
by slytherensangel26
Summary: Conner and Kira have always danced around each other, but after a very public break up, with Krista, Conner realizes that it's Kira he wants. However, neither Kira nor Conner were prepared for where that path would take them...
1. The Very Public Confrontation

**Hey everyone! So, this a new story I'm working on, it's not a huge dramatic epic like my other stories, this is just a little love story that will lead up to a really cute Christmas Fic.**

 **This takes place just a little bit after Dino Thunder. Those of you who have followed me all this time know my take on the PR time line. For those that don't. I always add in at least 2 to 4 years in between Power Rangers in Space and Lost Galaxy.**

 **Thanks once again to MertMidnightAngel for her beta skills! They are a life saver!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers at all. They are the property of Saban Brands. This is just me having a bit of fun! I'm not making any money off this at all! Not one single penny!**

 **Lastly, I want everyone to know that I'm not hating on anyone's life style. But when those people go militant against those who don't share their views, then it's wrong, as you will see below.**

 **So, I guess that's everything! On with the show!**

* * *

 **Reefside CA**

 **October 2008**

"Conner, you do realize what you're eating, if Krista finds out, she's gonna have a cow…er…conniption fit."

"Trent, I'm a desperate man. My spirit animal is a T-Rex and I've gone without any kind of meat or dairy for 6 months, tofu is not the same thing as a burger. I can't go without meat this long!"

Trent chuckled and handed over the little red basket to Conner who was practically salivating over the perfectly cooked hamburger and fries.

The first bite was heaven. The second bite was Nirvana. By the sixth bite, it was all over for him.

"Conner McKnight! What are you doing?" Came the near screeching voice next to him.

The red ranger veteran nearly choked as he turned to see his very angry girlfriend looking ready to kill him.

Trent looked at him with sympathy before turned to get another drink order.

Conner wiped his mouth and said a silent prayer.

"I'm sorry, Krista. I'm not like you, I'm a carnivore, and you're a vegetarian. I need my protein and Tofu just doesn't work for me."

The slap could be heard across the cyberspace.

Conner hissed…his girlfriend could really hit hard. "How could you Conner? You sacrifice some poor cow to feed your craving! Think of what that poor cow had to go through just for this burger! Take another bite and we're over- I'm not kidding!"

Conner was at a loss for words until he saw Kira sitting on the edge of the stage, looking at him with concern etched across her face. Before he could say anything more, Krista followed his gaze. "It's her isn't it?! She's corrupted you!"

"Kira hasn't done anything, she's my best friend and she's been respectful of my attempt to be a vegetarian. Leave her out of this!"

But Krista was on a roll. "Don't play games with me, Conner, I know you're more than just best friends. My friends saw you holding her, have you been fucking her as well? I heard you were a man-whore. So glad I found out before I gave myself to you."

"Hold on a second, Krista," Conner said with his hands up, trying to defuse the situation. "I haven't slept with anyone. Not with Kira and if you're going to keep attacking me, than I sure won't sleep with you either. The reason your friends saw me holding her, was because she'd just broken up with her boyfriend and I was comforting her. I was friends with her before I ever even knew you and if Kira needs me, than no one, not even my girlfriend is going to forbid me being there for her when she needs me."

Krista looked at him angrily and just as her open hand went flying, Kira promptly grabbed her wrist in a tight hold. "That's enough, Krista, I won't allow you to keep attacking my best friend. And I know what your next line is going to be. He doesn't need me to fight his battles, but he's too much of a gentleman to hit a girl, However, I have no problem slapping you for him. This is not how a good girlfriend should act, so why not take your tofu and your tree hugging ways and leave. You've caused enough of a scene."

Krista jerked her wrist free and then glared at Conner. "Fine, we're over, you cow killer, keep your fugly little slut and have fun with her. I hope she gives you the clap."

Kira glared at her as she left; it was taking everything she had to stay in one spot and not react. When she was gone, Conner, blushing bright red sighed and rested his head against the bar."

"Hey, Kira. This is a bro moment," Trent said softly. "I better take over from here."

Kira's face was flaming and she stepped back not saying a word. Trent carefully took the food basket and ushered him back through the double doors.

Kira walked her way to the exit only to run into to Kimberly who had seen everything. "Hey, Kira. You look like you could use a time out too. I'm meeting my girls at Olive Garden. You're going to join us. Good food with good friends always helps the situation look better."

Kira could only nod though she chanced a look at the double doors. When she looked back, Kimberly squeezed her hand and gently led her out the door.

Kira didn't show it, but she couldn't help but feel humiliated.

* * *

"Hey, don't let that bitch's words get to you." Kimberly said as she pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant.

Kira looked up, startled at her mentor's words. "Is it that obvious?"

Kim nodded at her with a small smile. "You haven't said a single word all the way here. There was real venom in those insults, she truly believed you were sleeping with Conner."

"But I haven't. I'm still a virgin and just broke up with Trent two weeks ago. We never even slept together."

Kimberly nodded. "Yeah, I figured as much. I have a sixth sense about these things, I'd bet my morpher that you wouldn't have slept with Trent anyway…not when you've only got eyes for Conner." At Kira's startled look, Kimberly laughed softly and gently squeezed her hand. "I'm a mother, I know these things."

Kira nodded in resignation. "Things are so fucked up right now!"

"Not necessarily. That boy's got eyes for you too. I've been watching you two dance around each other for a while now. Tommy and the other guys have Conner well in hand. We're just going to go in here and have a nice long lunch with the other girls and by the tonight, things will be that much better."

Kira gave her a dubious look, but Kimberly only got out the car and waited for her psudo daughter to join her.

As usual Kimberly was right and by the time their main course was brought in, Kira felt much more at ease. She looked at her mentor. "So, don't these kinds of interventions come with sage advice? Did you have a hard time with Dr. O when you first started going out?"

"Yeah, Kimmie bear, tell her just how hard you had it with Tommy. Don't keep us in suspense!"

Kimberly gave Trini, whom had asked the question a glaring look. "What suspense? Both you and Aisha were there when all this went down."

Trini gave her an innocent look. "I have no idea what you're talking about. You told me, and I quote, 'This never happened.'" She used air quotes to make her point.

"Ok, then have mercy on me." Kira begged. "Please prove to me that what happened today isn't as bad as it can get."

Kimberly sighed and put her head in her hands. After a moment, she lifted her head and looked at her friend in resignation. "It was a lot of things that led up to that awkward moment."

"Please Kim, you've always downplayed that moment." Aisha said. "You were damn spectacular and you know it. She's our family now, and my protégé, she can handle it."

Kimberly looked at Kira who was giving her an expectant look and the older woman sighed heavily.

"First, I want you to know that what happened in the café earlier, with Krista was not as bad as it can get. You acted must like any of us would and you should not let any of those awful things she said get to you. She's not the first judgmental bitch you're going to run into."

Kira only nodded.

Kim nodded and took a deep breath. "To hear Aisha talk about it, you'd think it was some massive final fight scene from a martial arts movie…but to me it was a blur full of adrenaline and I don't even remember most of it."

"Don't worry, Kimmie, I'll be happy to fill in the blanks."

"Yeah, 'Sha. I'm sure you will." Kimberly said, rolling her eyes.

After a moment, the former pink ranger looked at Kira solemnly. "It was just another weekend. Ernie had asked Tommy to help him unload a delivery truck that was coming in. His usual helper had sprained his ankle the night before and as usual, my sweet boyfriend had immediately volunteered. Anyway, the plan was for me to come to the youth center and from there, we'd go on to get some lunch to an actual restaurant and then to the drive in. Anyway, I was slightly late to the Ernie's-don't ask me what it was because I truly don't remember-but when I got there, I saw one of the older seniors making a move on Tommy. She had gotten really close to him and was seriously flirting with him. I of course knew the girl.

She was the classic high school slut. She'd already slept with most of the jocks on both the football and basketball team. If they were athletic and hot, she'd do everything she could to get them into her bed.

But the guys in our group knew all too well what she was up to. I got an earful as I walked up. What made me snap was when she leaned in close to whisper in Tommy's ear and he brushed her off."

*flash back*

 _Kimberly's eye brow raised as the girl laughed as if Tommy had told her a funny joke. She reached out to touch his thigh and Tommy moved away from her._

" _I'm flattered Britney. But I've got a girlfriend already and she's the only one I let touch me like that. Please, leave me alone."_

 _The blonde laughed again. "Oh please Tommy. Why would you want that valley girl when you could have me? I can make all your wildest dreams come true."_

 _And Kimberly saw red._

 _She marched over to them and tapped Britney on the shoulder. When she turned, Kimberly crossed her arms_

 _over her chest._

" _Move aside, Britney, you're barking up the wrong tree. Tommy is with me…and we have a hot date to get on with. Now, get lost."_

 _The blonde looked at her and scoffed. "What? With you? He must have really lowered his standards if he's sleeping with you."_

 _Kimberly took a deep breath. "That's none of your business. He's chosen me and not you. You seriously need to get lost, before I do something I'll later regret."_

 _The blonde laughed out loud._

 _And then Kimberly swung her fist and caught the blonde in the mid-section. When the girl doubled over clutching her stomach Kimberly pulled a side kick that Tommy had taught her, connecting with the back of her knees and drove the blonde to the ground. The blonde rolled over and put her hands up to fend off_

 _Kimberly, but the smaller girl grabbed her hand and with a move almost too fast to see, she had rolled_

 _Britney again and pinned her arm behind her back._

 _With a cry of pain, Britney tried to move, but Kimberly was too heavy. "I warned you, Bambi. You leave my boyfriend alone. He's mine and if you don't want me to beat your ass twice, you'll keep your hands away from him. I don't want him to be the next victim of The Clap."_

 _Britney nodded and Kimberly released her and instantly got up, not about not give the blonde a chance to retaliate. As it turned out, she needn't have worried. The blonde got up, wiping a little bit of blood of her face. She gave Tommy a long look. "Fine, I don't want ass that your psycho girlfriend already had. Have fun with your dirty little slut." The she flipped her now messy hair and walked away._

*End flashback*

"When I got finally tore my eyes from her, I noticed that everyone was staring at me. Especially Tommy. He was slack jawed and also just a little impressed. Jason looked so proud and my girls here were laughing their butts off. I was so red in the face and embarrassed that I'd let my rage get the best of me."

"Oh please, Kim, don't downplay it. That was quite the impressive display of power. You got your point across and we never saw her again. And if I recall, when we saw you guys the next day…you had that glow about you…and Tommy had a skip in his step. We knew it was only a matter of time before a proposal came."

Kimberly chuckled and looked at Kira. "So, you see, how you handled it was a damn shade more noble than what I did. You didn't give her a beat down and both you and Conner are unscathed. I know you think that what happened today was embarrassing, but it could have been a lot worse."

Kira nodded, unable to form any sort of witty reply, instead, she picked up another breadstick and bit into it.

* * *

 **The Oliver house**

Conner inhaled the scent of meat and groaned in appreciation. The men were having a full blown cookout and Adam and Rocky were manning the really impressive grill.

Tommy sat across from him on the other side of the picnic table and leveled him with serious look. "Are you ready to tell me exactly what happened? Trent and Ethan gave me the run down but I want to hear it from you…and not just about the confrontation."

Conner sighed. "I'm not meant to be a vegetarian…or a tree-hugger. I really did give the whole veggie only diet a try, but I didn't do it for me…I did it to keep my relationship with Krista going. But I'm a guy, I have to have meat. I can't go without this long; the truth is that I've been cheating on the diet for months now. This is just the first time I've been caught."

Dr. O nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I don't blame you…you are after all a red power ranger, and Jason can attest to that personally. According to Kim, Jason's appetite for meat increased tenfold after he took on the mantle, and his zord was a T-Rex too, ironically enough. I'm not surprised at all that you had a hard time with tofu. So, you got caught, what happened next?"

Conner sighed again. "It got really nasty…and she slapped me, hard. And she was accusing me of sleeping with Kira, once she caught me looking at Kira over her shoulder. I hated what she called Kira and I tried to calm the situation, but Krista was on a roll. She went to slap me again but Kira intervened and chased her off. And then Trent dragged me off to the kitchen to recover from the confrontation. He let me eat the rest of the burger before bringing me back here." Conner was quiet for a moment before meeting Tommy's eyes again. "I know I should have stayed with Kira instead of leaving, but I just didn't know what to say. I'm not used to girls coming to my defense outside of battle."

"Gee, Conner, you sound just like Tommy did." Jason said after picking up a couple of sodas from the cooler. He handed his fellow rangers their cold drinks and then sat down on the top of the picnic table. Tommy looked up at Jason, "You're going to tell that story aren't you. About that show down at Ernie's."

Jason shrugged and Conner gave him an intrigued look. "A showdown…what, did Kimberly beat someone up in a fit of jealousy?"

Jason grinned and opened the can of soda. "Yep, and it's pretty hilarious. I've never been so proud of my baby sister in my life."

Conner listened with rapt attention as the story was told with almost play by play accuracy. "After Kim's little showdown against that skank, Tommy just sat there looking dumbstruck and Kimberly was just as embarrassed after she came out of her bloodlust. Thankfully, we weren't in school so there was no detention or a call home to the parents. He just simply gave the man-eater a look over to make sure she didn't need an ambulance before very publicly kicking her out of his youth center."

Conner raised an eyebrow. "A man-eater?"

Tommy snorted. "It's amazing she hadn't contracted some kind of STD by the time she got to me. Even if Kim and I weren't dating, there's virtually no way I'd have ever mounted the village bicycle."

Jason was smirking at the shocked look Conner was sporting at his teacher's straight forward comment. He'd never heard his teacher and mentor talk about any woman the way he'd just did.

Tommy chuckled. "Really, Conner, I'd have thought by now you'd begun to see beyond the shirt and tie. I'm not your teacher anymore, I'm just a regular guy when I'm not at school...and once upon a time, I was a teenager just like you and surprise, surprise, we had hooches."

"Hooches?" Conner asked, even more confused.

Tommy sighed and put his head in his hands. Thankfully Jason after laughing for a minute translated. "That's 90's slang for a girl who sleeps with just about anybody with a heartbeat."

"Oh…ok. So this…hooch made a move on you, and Mrs. O kicked her ass in front of everybody."

Tommy nodded. "Once the shock of seeing my petite girlfriend using moves I've never seen before wore off, I knew I couldn't wait much longer to marry her. By the following Christmas, just after we passed the torch to the next generation of rangers, Kim and I were celebrating our first Christmas as a married couple."

Conner shook his head at his mentor's statement. And then startled slightly at the next question. "So, it's time to decide how you're going to handle this situation." Tommy said, all joking aside. "You're a man now, and the girl you say you feel for is going to be feeling pretty raw after all the drama at the café. My wife has her in hand for now. But they'll be making their way here after their lunch." Tommy paused thinking of his next few words. "I'm saying this as your mentor; I know you definitely feel something for her, I've known it for a while now. That Krista girl really made everything pretty damn awkward, for the both of you with all her accusations. Now is the time for you to help Kira move on from what happened today. Honor and validate her defense of you-"

"I got it Dr. O, I'll talk to her as soon as she gets here. I'll make things right between us."

"See that you do. But for now, let's eat."

* * *

 **So, what do you all think of this new take? Let me know in the reviews! See you in the next chapter!**


	2. Private Moments

**So, we're back. I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving feasts! I know I did!**

 **Thank you all for the wonderful reviews from last chapter, keep them coming as they are a wonderful encouragment for me!**

 **Once again, major thanks to Mertmidnightangel for her awesome beta skills! She told me I went just a little cheesey this time around, but I was trying to add some levity to the situation and I think it worked out well! So, without further adeu, here comes the next chapter!**

* * *

 **A couple hours later**

Conner had a full belly now and it was nothing but meat and potatoes and coleslaw. He was in Heaven… well, mostly heaven. Sitting back in the porch swing, he felt truly content. And so full! It was just a heavenly feeling!

Jason chuckled at him knowingly and sat down next to him. "You got your fill of meat?"

Conner grinned, rubbing his stomach. "God yes, if I ever see tofu again, it'll be too soon."

Jason laughed. "Yeah, we T-Rexes can't have meat substitutes. We've got to have the real deal."

"You've got that right," Rocky said making his way over. "You should have seen the way Aisha's eyes widened the first time after we took over the dino powers. That whole persona I have now, about always having food around me; it didn't start until I took on the Great Power. Then I just couldn't get enough meat. I didn't level out until we took on the Ninjetti Power."

Conner gave his fellow red rangers a look. "So you're saying this craving for meat is a dino thing?"

Jason nodded. "I'm convinced since the same thing happened to me. During that whole Pudgy Pig incident when we were holding that food festival at the youth center; there's a reason I volunteered to handle the American food, especially the burgers. Thankfully, my parents never really gave much thought to our sudden increased craving for meat, they just wrote it off as a sign that I was in the midst of a growth spurt and left it at that."

Conner nodded. "Yeah, my parents took it the same way, not to mention that I was constantly on the soccer field. They even encouraged both my protein and carb intake. I wasn't about to complain." Conner paused and looked at Jason. "I know this is a change in subject, but what was….the Pudgy Pig incident?"

Jason shook his head and put a hand over his face. "Oh good lord, that monster was something else. It was way back in the early days, way before even Tommy came into the picture. It was just the five of us against a monster that literally ate everything you could think of, even our weapons…"

* * *

Kira sat back in her seat, unable to eat another breadstick. Her stomach was finally satisfied; though her heart and emotional state was another story. The whole time that group of women had sat eating and talking amongst themselves, Kira had been in her own world. The venomous words that had been thrown at her had hit their mark. Kira felt shame burn within, though even that made no sense. She was still a virgin and though she'd privately longed for and even fantasized about Conner, she'd kept her distance. Trent had seen through her act and quietly, in the privacy of his car, called her out on it. It had been a hard thing to hear from him and she had reeled when he'd done his best to dump her in his most compassionate voice.

 _"I really care about you Kira, and I want what's best for you…even if it means freeing you from this relationship. I know it's Conner you love, not me." Kira had given him a shocked look, which he'd met with a wry smile. "I'm an artist, we notice everything. You've loved Conner for a while and I'm okay with that. He can give you the love you need – I can't."_

 _Kira had been dumbstruck. "What are you talking about? Conner is happy with Krista, and I'm happy with you…why are you doing this?"_

 _"Content isn't the same thing has happy. He's content in his relationship with Krista, but it's not going to last. It's the same with us. You're content with me, and I'm grateful that you gave me a chance to redeem myself for the way I treated you the first time we were together…but you're not as happy as you could be. A girl like you should be over the top happy, smiling and laughing all the time. Conner can give you that, I can't. Please Kira, don't make this any harder than it is already."_

 _Kira still hadn't known what to say after that. She barely felt the gentle kiss he'd left on her cheek as she numbly got out of the car and walked into her house._

Conner had been a balm to her when he'd found out, his arms had felt amazing around her, with just a few words in her ear, the pain had faded away and then a warmth had spread within.

And today she'd paid for the warmth he'd given her with that public shaming. In the back of her mind, she knew that those words flung her way didn't contain a bit of truth, yet the accusations hit her hard; no one knew of her private fantasies she'd had of him. She'd played them out in her mind over and over when she'd first experimented with herself in the shower and in her bed. Today, she'd felt publicly exposed and it was embarrassing. The reason she blushed was not because she'd actually done what she had been accused of, but because those were things she'd wanted to do with him.

"Kira, are you ready to go, or did you want more to eat?"

Kira startled ever so slightly as she broke out of her inner thoughts. She looked around to see the other women at the table looking at her in curiosity. She blushed yet again.

"Sorry Mrs. O. I was in lala land again. What did you say?"

Kimberly smiled at her. "We're finished with lunch, I was asking if you'd had your fill. We're about to leave here."

Kira finished the final bread stick in the basket, finished her water and then wiped her mouth.

"I am now. Thanks for lunch."

Kimberly gave her a secretive smile. "You're welcome, dear. Now, let's get back to the house, I'm sure the men are missing us."

Kira gulped and the butterflies that had caused a mini tornado inside her chest started flying around again. She didn't know what would happen when she saw Conner again….and she was scared!

Kim saw the whole range of emotions play across the young ranger veteran's face and gently squeezed her hand as she walked by.

* * *

 **Oliver Residence**

Conner looked up from his smart phone as the door opened and Trini and Aisha walked through, one behind the other. He took a deep breath, suddenly feeling nervous, knowing how close Kira must be at that moment. A few more minutes passed and still Kira had not walked through the doors.

"She's on the front porch," Kim said knowingly as she poked her head out of the back door, and then she was gone again.

Conner took another deep breath as she slowly got up and walked through the door. As he entered, he saw Kimberly disappear into the master bedroom with the small bundle that was her baby daughter whimpering softly in her arms. The door closed a moment later and Conner shifted his focus towards the front door again. When he got to the door, he gazed out the glass window pane and saw Kira sitting on the front porch steps leaning against the wooden post. He quietly opened the door and walked through, letting it shut softly behind him.

Kira looked up at him, with just a little trepidation in her eyes. He hated that look. So, he sat down against the twin post on the other side of the steps and they sat there for a few moments more before Conner broke the silence.

"So, that was pretty rough today. Are you alright?"

Kira nodded. "I'll live, I hate what happened today, but there's nothing I can do to fix it now. What's done is done. I don't even know if I can ever set foot in there again."

Conner gave her a questioning look. "Haley's our friend, she's not going to hold anything against you. What happened today…wasn't your fault. I'm only sorry that I never realized what a bitch my ex was."

Kira looked up at him in surprise. He'd never heard this tone of voice from him before…it just about bordered on self-loathing. Suddenly, she wanted nothing more than to comfort him, to reassure him. She got up and scooted closer to him and he gave her a small smile before looking at his feet again. "I really screwed things up when I asked her out."

"We all make mistakes Conner; what's done is done. No one can go back and fix what happened."

Conner looked up at her in wonder, he truly didn't expect her to be so forgiving, not after she became the target of his ex's verbal venom. Here, in that moment, the fierce protector that had shown up at the café was present again…the same warrior that fought at his side all through their battles….was right here again. In that moment, he found his courage to take the next step.

"You're right. None of us can go back in time to change what happened today. But still, I do need to apologize for something."

When she opened her mouth to negate his words, he pushed on before she could interrupt him.

"I'm sorry Kira, for choosing her, when it's you I wanted."

That was not what Kira had been expecting. "You…you want me? Why?"

Conner looked at her, surprised at her sudden outburst. The awkward moment was back with a vengeance and the whole speech he'd prepared in his head about all the reasons that he loved and wanted her had vanished. They looked at each other, speechless.

Conner swallowed nervously, he was about to do something that he hadn't ever planned on doing, but the lyrics in his head were the only words present that could save him at the moment.

He took a deep breath and began to sing…softly.

"You're the meaning in my life, you're the inspiration. You bring feeling to my life, you're the inspiration. I wanna have you near me, I wanna have you hear me saying, No one needs you more than I need you." Conner looked down at his feet, blushing.

Kira was at a loss for words. Here for her, this tough jock and red ranger had just sung to her, it was not what she'd expected at all...and yet, he'd just answered her questions in the sweetest way possible.

After a moment he looked up at her with baited breath. "That was amazing, Conner. I didn't know you could sing."

Conner shrugged. "It's not something I advertise."

Kira nodded in acceptance. "That's okay. I love that you did that just for me." She took a deep breath and answered him in the same manner. "And now I know, that I need you here with me, from tonight until the end of time. You should know, everywhere I go, always in my mind in my heart, in my soul." She took a deep breath. "You're the meaning in my life, you're my inspiration… You bring feeling to my life, you're the inspiration. I wanna have you near me, I wanna have you hear me saying, No one needs you more than I need you."

They looked at each other for a few moments, and then Kira inched closer to him and kissed him softly.

Instantly a feeling of euphoria took them over and Kira was suddenly in his lap and his arms were around her. The kiss was deepening when suddenly the warrior in him screamed a warning in his head and he gently broke the kiss. At Kira's confused look, they both looked toward the road to see 14 year old Dylan and his little sister Michelle who'd just celebrated her 7th birthday, standing there, looking stunned. They were Tommy and Kim's adopted children, and they looked from Conner to Kira and then back to Conner. Behind them was Justin, who had just brought them home from the mall. The new game that Dylan wanted had come out the day before, and he'd been thrilled when Ethan had shown up to surprise them with a trip to the GameStop to get it. Thankfully, they were both ignorant for the real reason for the impromptu outing. They had also both been treated to Dairy Queen. Only after Dr. O had sent him the all clear text, had they finally been brought home.

While the kids looked stunned, Ethan was grinning widely and flashing them a discrete thumbs up.

Kira covered her face and Conner was laughing at Ethan before giving his team mate a look that all but begged him to give him and Kira some privacy. Thankfully Ethan understood and ushered the kids around the side of the house and once again, they were alone. Conner looked back at Kira and gently lifted her chin so that she was looking back at him again. "They're gone now."

Kira shook her head in amusement. "It's not like we're underage teens caught making out by the principal."

Conner grinned at her. "No we're not…and personally, I'd like to pick up where we left off."

Kira grinned at him and leaned into him and kissed him fully on the lips, though this time it was more gentle and unhurried. After several minutes they parted again, each panting just a little bit from lack of air. Kira pecked him once more and then settled against his chest and Conner wrapped his arms around her tighter and kissed her head. For a while they just sat there, enjoying the moment.

"I never did thank you for rescuing me earlier. That she-witch was backing me into a corner."

Kira nodded. "Don't mention it. She was all kinds of crazy and as much as I'm all for respecting other people's lifestyle, she was taking it way too far. Now, can we not let that banshee taint things right now?

Conner kissed her forehead again and then nodded. "Yeah, this is perfect right now…I'm not sure I'm ready to rejoin the others just yet."

Kira laughed softly. "So we don't. Not just yet." Then she was kissing him again.

Neither Conner nor Kira showed up till Jason had started the fire pit and everyone sat around, roasting marshmallows and drinking sodas. Tommy was busy at the moment as he sat with his sweet daughter in his lap, showing her how to roast the marshmallow she had. He didn't look up till the little girl was happily munching on her s'more. Then he gave the both of them and their joined hands a brief scrutinizing look…and then he smiled at them both.

All was well again with their little team.

At least for the time being.

* * *

 **Yeah, so there was some definite cheese involved...LOL. Song credit goes to** **Chicago** **for** _**"You're the Inspiration"**_ **I know it's an old school song, but it was the current ear wig for me when I was writing this chapter and playing it out in my head. *shrugs* Any way, I hope you all like this chapter, please leave nice reviews for me telling me what you think about this chapter.**

 **Until next time, see ya!**


	3. Date Night

**Thank you so much for the nice reviews! This chapter comes with a lemon warning so you have all been warned! Before you all continue on, I would like to once again remind you all that this fic skips ahead a little bit. So don't flip out and accuse me of rushing things. This was never meant to be a drawn out story that lasted for months...but it will still be a complete story.**

 **Anyway, this chapter has been edited by me, as my wonderful beta Mertmidnightangel just became 2nd time Mommy and I'm taking over for now. So, all screw ups are mine!**

 **Anyway, I can't think of any more alerts to give, so feel free to read on and enjoy!**

* * *

 **3 Months Later**

Conner looked at himself in the mirror, giving himself a final once over to make sure that he looked presentable. He and Kira had a dinner date tonight and he was picking her up at her house and possibly introducing himself to her mother. Ms. Ford. Tonight, he was wearing a red polo shirt that had been freshly laundered and ironed along with a new pair of jeans he'd bought at the mall along with some new high top shoes in red and black.

He and Kira had been going strong for a solid 3 months now and their love had been growing steadily and he knew that he was head over heels for her and he was over the top happy…they both were. Each time they found themselves making out, they were both becoming more adventurous and their make out sessions were becoming more and more heated… It would only be a matter of time before-"

"Hey Sweetheart, you going on another date?"

Conner startled at her sudden appearance and turned around to see his mother in the door way. She was giving him a knowing smile as she leaned against the door post.

"Yeah Mom. I'm supposed to pick Kira up from her house and maybe even meet her mother. Then I'm taking her to the drive in later."

At the mention of Ms. Ford, his mother's face grimaced. Conner narrowed his eyes and gave her a confused look. "Mom, is there something I should know about?"

Ms. Lucy Mcknight sighed and walked into his room sitting on his bed. She was a very beautiful woman with a tall stature, (where he'd gotten his own size from) and she wore her long dark brown hair in a French braid. She had deep blue eyes and a caring smile.

"I guess it's time you knew, since you're going into dangerous territory." She used that tone of voice again, the one that reminded him of that warrior princess from TV.

He sat down on the bed and gave her his full attention. "What is it, Mom? Do you think Kira's in trouble?"

Lucy chuckled softly. "You really are in deep with her. If that's the first thing that popped into your head. I'm afraid you got that hero's syndrome from me."

 _Oh, if only you knew._ Conner thought to himself.

"When your father and I were teenagers, we went to Reefside High School, just like you. But Ms. Ford, or Heidi, as we knew her back then was a bully and she and I faced off often and usually over some poor soul she decided to target.

I went to detention many times because of her. She acted like the golden child, some sort of innocent angel in front of the teachers, but around the other students she was a damned demon. She always thought herself so superior, always dressing in brand named clothes and her hair was always so perfectly coifed. But I knew better, we lived in the same growing sub division. To make a long story short, because I know you have a date to go on. Until the day I married your father, Shamus and we moved away, we were enemies. At first I was worried that her daughter, Kira would turn out like her, but now that I've met her, I know better…but her mother…that's another story. Unless she had her own dramatic life changing redemption, she's probably still at it. There's just something not right about her, so I want you to be careful when you meet her and don't be fooled by any innocent airs she puts out."

Before he became a ranger, Conner might have brushed off his mother's words, but he was a ranger veteran now, and he took her words to heart.

"I will Mom, thanks for the warning." He leaned over and kissed his mom's cheek.

She smile up at him and patted his cheek. "Better get going son, do you need any gas money or anything?"

"Nah, I've got it covered."

Lucy nodded and followed him out the door, closing it behind him.

* * *

All through the drive to the Ford Residence, his mother's warning resonated in his head. He kept that warning in the back of his mind, much like he used to do in his ranger days. And yet, he still couldn't wait to have Kira in his arms again.

When he turned down the street that led to Kira's house, (having gotten the address from her before). He felt his ranger sense flare again. His grip tightened on the wheel as he turned the corner and pulled into the drive way. He got out of the car, straightened his shirt and ran a hand through his hair, before walking up the porch. He knocked on the door and then stood back a little to wait for his girlfriend.

A moment later, the door opened to reveal an older woman with blonde hair, pulled into a lose bun. She was wearing a very fancy tunic and jeans. Her nails were perfectly manicured and she smiled at him, though the light didn't reach her eyes. He felt his ranger senses go on alert.

"Hello Conner, are you here to pick up Kira?'

"Yes, Ma'am. We've got a dinner date. Is she ready to go?"

"Why yes, she is. Let me just go get her." She closed the door though it didn't shut all the way, for which Conner was thankful. Just beyond the door, he could hear some kind of argument going on and then Kira's voice raising and then a gasp.

His fist tightened, and he was just on the verge of charging into the house when Kira opened the door and pushed past him.

He rushed to get to his car ahead of Kira so he could open the door for her. She mumbled her thanks to him as he gently closed the door and walked around to the driver's seat and got in. He looked at her closely, trying to figure out if there was anything wrong with her; or any sign of abuse. After a few moments of finding nothing obvious, he covered the top of Kira's hand with his and smiled at her. "I've missed you Kira. Is everything okay?"

She schooled her features a moment before smiling at him. "Yeah, I'm great. I've missed you too."

Now Conner was even more concerned, though he also schooled his features. He leaned over the console of his car to kiss her, and she kissed him back before slipping on her sunglasses.

Conner squeezed her hand again before putting the car in gear and pulling away from her house. This morning, he'd had planned on taking her to a little steak house on the classier side of town. But now, he had a very strong feeling that his mother's warning was spot on; when he came to the access road he turned left instead of right, heading towards the ocean. There had been a place he'd checked out after getting a flyer a year before. He'd gone to the grand opening and had loved the food and atmosphere. This would be a good place for them to go tonight.

* * *

About 30 minute later, Conner pulled up in front of an old fashioned looking hunting lodge. It had a covered deck on which a few picnic tables sat. Next to the lodge, was a larger building decorated in the same fashion with the same exterior and it reminded Kira of a very rustic fishing resort. It stood about a mile off a great wooden pier where a few avid fishermen stood with their fishing poles in hand. Kira took off her sunglasses and gave her surroundings a closer look.

"What is this place?"

Conner grinned at her. "The Great Reef Lodge. It's quiet and secluded and the food here is amazing."

Kira got out and looked all around her. Her eyes landed on the quiet lake. "It's so pretty here!"

Conner grinned at her though she had her back to him and couldn't see it. "Yeah, the view's even better from here."

Kira paused and turned back to him and he grinned at her before walking over to her side and extending his arm. "Shall we?"

Kira's stomach answered for her. In truth, her stomach had been growling for a while now, she'd been fighting hunger pains all day; but Conner didn't need to know that…not yet.

Conner leaned in, stealing a kiss before she accepted his arm and allowed him to lead her up the steps to the porch and into the restaurant.

Once inside, they were greeted by a tall man wearing a Hawaiian shirt, cargo shorts and sandals. The overhead lights shone off his bald head. "Hey there! Welcome to the Great Reef Lodge. My Name is Dean; is it just the two of you tonight?"

Conner grinned at him. "Yeah, just my girlfriend and I."

"Well, come on in, we're not too busy tonight, so you can sit wherever you want." Conner grinned at Kira and led them over to a corner booth. When they had been seated, their waiter handed them their menus. He waited a few seconds so they could get comfortable before pulling out his notepad. Before he could say anything else, there came a commotion from the front door. An angry woman wearing a designer blouse and shorts stormed through the door.

"Excuse me, I demand to see the owner of this establishment!"

Dean grimaced, and sighed loudly. "Excuse me a moment, I better go-"

"Nope, it's okay Handsome, I'll handle this."

Dean swore under his breath. "I was afraid she'd say that."

Behind them, a tall woman with a very healthy figure strode out of the double doors and approached the customer. Behind the irate woman walked a teenager with pretty brown hair and double pierced ears. She looked pretty upset.

Dean saw it out of the corner of his eye and he got a stormy look on his face. He turned to her. "Hey Katrina, I could sure use some help over here!"

The young teenager nodded and walked briskly over to the table. "Hey Dad, what's up?"

Dean squeezed her shoulder. "Our guests would like something to drink. Would you mind taking over for a second while I go assist your mother?"

"Sure Dad, I'd be happy to." Dean grinned at her and handed over the paper and pen. Then he hurried over to his wife to help her out.

"Hey guys, my name's Katrina, what can I get you to drink?"

Kira looked over at the confrontation. "Um, is everything okay?"

The petite teenager nodded. "Yep, I'm not worried, Mom was the boxing champion in high school. She's totally got this handled. She's not really a people person; that's why she's the cook and dad's the waiter. So, how about those drink orders?"

Kira laughed and nodded, as they both orders sodas and she walked away. Behind them, things had escalated and the owner had gone behind the register and pulled out a baseball bat. Dean rushed to her side and gently pried the baseball bat from her hands. "Nuh uh, that's not how we deal with unhappy customers." She gave him a disgruntled look and he chuckled and kissed her forehead. "You should go check the food. I think I smell something burning."

She huffed and walked away and he chuckled giving her an appreciative look.

"That beast should be in a looney bin; not serving food!" The angry customer spat.

Dean sighed and turned back to the woman. "Look, this isn't the Four Seasons, this is a quiet lodge with basic creature comforts. If you want fancier sheets and towels, then I'll refund your money and you can go find somewhere else to stay."

The woman huffed at him. "Fine, I don't want to stay in this shitty hole anyway. Go get my money."

Dean shook his head and pulled out his cellphone as the woman walked away. "Hey, the crazy whiny woman will be checking out. Just give her the damn money and send her on her way."

By the time the situation was dealt with. Kat had returned to the table with her drinks.

"I'm sorry you guys had to witness that, she's been a pain to deal with for two days now. So, would you guys like to start out with some appetizers?"

Conner looked up from the menu and then at Kira, "Hey Rock star, how about some mozzarella sticks, they're always good to start out with."

Kira looked like she wanted to agree with him, but her smile turned to a frown. And she sighed softly. "I'll just get a salad…it's better for me."

Conner looked at her closely. "Rockstar, I've got plenty of money for us to eat on. If you want some mozzarella sticks, then-"

Kira's stomach growled a gain and she grimaced. Conner looked at her closly and then looked up at Dean. "We'll start out with the mozzarella."

Dean nodded and walked away.

When he was gone, Conner reached across the table and picked up her hand. "Kira, what's going on? I know we both have healthy appetites, there's no need to starve yourself."

Kira flinched at his choice of words, and Conner picked up on it right away. "Please tell me that's not what you're doing. There's no need for that, you're already breathtakingly beautiful."

Kira shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it, Jock…not right now."

Conner sighed and nodded. "Alright, but we will talk about this. Who can you trust, if not me? I'm your boyfriend and teammate."

Kira looked at him guiltily. "I'm sorry…I know you want to help, but this is supposed to be date night. Can't we just enjoy the moment?"

Conner looked at her closely for a moment and then nodded, "Yeah, we can. I'm sorry for pressing you."

Kira smiled at him. "Good, because I really am hungry."

Conner grinned at her and gently rubbed the top of her hand. Within minutes, the appetizers arrived.

It was just after dusk when the love birds finished their dinner. They now stood a little ways from the pier on the embankment, where a rustic little gazebo stood. All through the dinner they had talked about light hearted subjects, discussed upcoming movies and places they'd like to see now that they were a couple.

But now, as the date drew to a close, Kira sighed and leaned against her boyfriends' side.

"I don't want to go home, Conner. I can't deal with her tonight."

Conner nodded and kissed her hair. "Then we won't. They have rooms to rent in the lodge. Let's go get one."

Kira looked up at him. "Right now? Just like that?"

Conner grinned at her, "I'm not ready to let you go back either. Come on!"

In under an hour, they were set up in one of the smaller rooms. Kira sat on the bed with her shoes off and she looked up at Conner who had just done the same thing.

He took off his outer shirt and joined her on the bed. He crossed his legs, leaning against the headboard and then gave her a serious look when she moved closer to him.

"Are you ready to talk about what's going on at home?"

Kira nodded and took a deep breath.

"It's kind of a long story. Mom has always been kind of mean. She had a perfectly good boyfriend a couple of years before we were rangers. He was pretty wealthy as it was, and she enjoyed the high life of pricey clothing and spa visits whenever she wanted. But then for some reason, he walked away from her. It was a pretty ugly scene and she fell apart for a few months. I thought eventually she would get better but she didn't. The food started disappearing and we went from even the most basic dinners to nothing at all. The school lunches were all that kept me from starving but I was still hungry. Mom was also gone all the time too. I started doing odd jobs where I could for money to buy some microwaved dinners and ramen noodles. Just the basics and then when the powers chose us. I became even hungrier and the energy we lost from morphing every time drained me. I couldn't figure out why the simple foods didn't satisfy me anymore. I was always just so hungry.

One night, Mrs. O confronted me about it and I told her that we just didn't have enough food at home that Mom just wasn't making enough to keep food on the table. So she started having me over for dinner more often or sending food along with Dr. O to school and that helped out a lot. Eventually, just after we won against Mesogog, I got that job with Hayley.

At first, all I wanted was to buy a car so I could get away from her. So I started saving money from my paychecks and putting it into the bank account I had. Saving only what I needed to keep getting the basic stuff. I nearly had a thousand in there, and I'd found a used car selling for about 8oo and I'd planned to buy it, so I went to take the money out and found it gone...just poof! It turns out that the account was linked to my mother and she'd drained it of every dime. It was devastating but she's my mom, so what could I do about it?"

She paused and looked up at Conner who was giving her his undivided attention. He nodded at her encouragingly and she continued.

"I closed out that bank account and opened another one with that other bank we have and started saving up again this time to just get the hell out of that house. I was doing really well, but then mom started demanding rent money. I was over 18 and so I owed it to her. She demanded 500 and at first I fought her on it and tried to defy her demands, so she stole the guitar from my room and pawned it as rent money. I learned my lesson about that and last year she upped it another hundred dollars and the reason I've not been eating like I should is because I've put every last cent into the bank account, just trying to get away from her."

Conner had been hanging on her every word and when she got quiet he looked at her closely and noticed that she was crying softly. He pulled her into his arms and she melted against him, just reveling in the comfort of his arms.

Eventually the tears ebbed and she lifted her head to see his eyes burning with passion. He leaned down and kissed her fully on the lips. She welcomed it and kissed him back, with every moment that ticked by the kisses became more urgent and hotter. They'd messed around before but this was beginning to awaken the age old hunger in the both of them. Conner ended the kiss and they both looked at each other breathlessly.

A moment later, an emotion flickered across Kira's eyes and she carefully straddled his lap and began to lift up her shirt.

Conner licked his lips but then stopped her for a moment by gently holding her wrist. She looked at him confused.

"Are you sure this is what you want?"

Kira nodded, biting her lip. "I just want to feel good Conner…I want to forget all that shit going on back at home. Please, don't stop me."

Conner could see the honest, open need in her eyes and found he could not deny her anything. So he let go of her wrist and then sat back and watched as she slowly took off her shirt, revealing her simple white bra. He licked his lips again. They'd messed around before, but this was new territory for him, he'd never seen her without her shirt on. The whole time Kira was watching his face and just from the look of desire in his eyes, she felt so wanted. It was a heady feeling as she reached behind her and unfastened the straps, exposing herself to her boyfriend.

Conner looked up at her. "You're so gorgeous. I wish you could see that. I know what you want tonight and I won't deny you, but I'm not sure I can stop myself once I've started. So please, if you have any doubts about this, let me know before I go any further…you have no idea how much I've wanted you like this."

Kira looked at him with solemn eyes. "I'm begging you for this, please...I just want to forget the bad shit going on….just please. Let me have this night."

With those words, the last of his hesitation vanished. He leaned forward, kissing her lips and, as he did, he palmed her breasts and then broke the kiss, going lower and tasting her delicate buds for the first time.

Kira felt her nerve endings surge at the new sensations her boyfriend was creating in her. She reached down and gently pulled at the hem of his undershirt and he stopped his ministrations before lifting his arms and letting her pull it off. Then she was in his arms again and he was kissing her even more desperately. She could feel him hardening underneath her and before she realized what was happening she was rocking hard against him and he broke the kiss staring at her.

"Too soon!" He mumbled. "Kira…you keep doing that, I'm not gonna last."

Kira ceased her movement and looked at him in confusion. He gave her a reassuring kiss. "I don't want to come until I'm inside you…but if you keep doing that, I'm not going to make it to that point."

Kira gave him a look of understanding and backed off just enough to rid herself of her jeans and underwear, which were soaked by now. She looked up to see Conner looking at her with blatant desire. He had, by now, taken his jeans off as well as his underwear. For the first time, she saw him in all his glory. He was stroking himself as he watched her. Kira suddenly wanted all that inside and she crawled onto the bed again and just as she was about to straddle him, he suddenly stopped her. She looked at him with narrowed eyes as he reached over to the nightstand and pulled a foil package from his wallet. He didn't waste much time as he slid it onto his length. He watched with hooded eyes as she reached out and touched him. He didn't let her go too far before he stopped her again. "Kira, this is a first for both of us. This might go better if you lie back and let me take you."

Kira only nodded and did as he asked. Conner took the pillows from behind his back and laid them under her head and made sure she was comfortable. When she was laying on the bed, her legs spread open for him, he positioned himself at her entrance and then gently pressed inside. Kira watched him and then closed her eyes, clutching his arms when he breached her barrier and pushed inside. He looked down when Kira cried out and then stopped for a moment, leaning down to kiss her lips. When she was looking up at him again he thrust in and out a couple more times till finally he was sheathed inside her. His eyes hadn't left hers the whole time. After a few moments, he grinned at her and kissed her again. "You okay, Rockstar?"

Kira only nodded at him and then bucked gently. Conner took that as a "yes" and then began to move. As he settled into a rhythm, Kira found herself enthralled by every sensation he was creating. She'd heard stories about sex, but this, what Conner was doing to her right then, was so very wonderful and she could feel her stomach tightening already.

She arched her back and her breathing picked up and she was chanting his name and she was getting louder. It was music to Conner's ears. He could already feel himself coming undone and he was desperate to see his girlfriend fall apart. He sped up his thrusts and gloried in the feel of her walls spasm around him.

"Conner! Conner! There…right….Conner!"

He came at almost the same time, and felt unimaginable euphoria as they both fell over the edge. When they had both come down from their highs, Conner, gently pulled himself out and carefully took the now used condom off and tossed it into the garbage can. He looked at Kira and then down at the sheet, and then his eyes widened when he saw the blood.

"Crap, I forgot about the bleeding part."

Blushing, Kira bolted from the bed and spent the next few minutes, cleaning herself off. When she finally returned to the bed, he opened his arms and she burrowed into them. Finally revealing at their feeling of completion.

Before long, Kira was asleep. Conner looked down at her gorgeous body and then pressed a kiss to her lips again. _Don't worry, Rock star, I'm going to get you out of that hellhole._

* * *

 **So, there you have it. They finally crossed the threshold. I wasn't completely sure about the lemon at the bottom, but after fanficrulez and I discussed this seriously we both agreed that this is one of those 'heat of the moment' kind of things. They are both young adults and I know I did plenty of stupid things when I was that age too. So, with that taken care of, please leave me some luv, ok?**


	4. Truth's Discovery

**Welcome back everyone! I'm so happy that this story is getting such a positive response!**

 **No real warnings this time, just some suggestive moments here and there!**

 **Again, all typos and grammar errors are my fault.**

* * *

 **About 2 months later...**

Tommy sat at the kitchen table enjoying his coffee. It was the weekend and the Oliver household was enjoying an unusually lazy morning. The kids were in the den watching their morning cartoons Kimberly was sleeping in just a little bit and he was, as usual up with the dawn. This had been his daily routine since highschool; it had been a way for him to stop being late for school not to mention that Kimberly had gifted him with that digital watch. Usually, when he woke up, he went into the back yard to practice his katas before taking a shower and preparing for the day. Lately, though, Dylan had taken to joining him. After the death of their parents, Joey and Samantha, Dylan who had gone through a rough grieving period had taken to Karate as an outlet for his angst and grief. Tommy had been a careful teacher and the boy had flourished. Now, as he was getting into his teens, the boy had really begun to take the sport seriously and had started joining his adoptive father in his morning routines. This morning had been much the same, though it had ended when Michelle woke up and asked him to go watch cartoons with her.

Tommy was glad that the two had such a strong sibling relationship.

But now, he sat at the kitchen counter, enjoying the coffee and the brief silence.

Suddenly in the other room, he began to hear his baby daughter beginning to cry. He set down his coffee cup and started to rise from his chair when he saw the door to their bedroom open up and Kimberly emerge heading for the nursery.

 _Gosh, she was just so damn beautiful!_ She yawned softly and opened the door and Tommy set down his coffee again and followed her into the room, shutting it behind him. He watched with love sick eyes as Kimberly gently lifted their daughter out of her crib and settled down in the rocking chair to nurse her.

It was a sight that Tommy couldn't get enough of. Through the years of their marriage, she'd gone from being his beautiful princess to his sexy goddess and this simple sweet moment was enough to make him feel all kinds of warm fuzzies.

"Take a picture Handsome, it might last longer."

Tommy chuckled evilly. "Oh but I have plenty of those, I actually prefer the real deal."

Kimberly grinned up at him. "You are insatiable, Handsome."

"Only for you, Beautiful. I really need to kidnap you, take you to my fortress and ravish you….again; soon.

Kimberly chuckled at him. "Hmm, and what a weekend that was…and if I'm not mistaken, that was how this little one was conceived."

Tommy laughed at her. "I have no regrets, Beautiful. Not a single one."

Kimberly shook her head and looked down at her sweet baby girl. "Me neither."

Tommy was about to walk further into the room when his cellphone went off. He sighed when he saw the number, and backed out of the room closing the door before answering it.

"Hello? Dr. Oliver speaking."

"Hello, Dr. Oliver, this is Conner's mom. I'm sorry to be bothering you on the weekend, but I'm trying to find my son. I know he likes to spend time over at your house, so I was wondering if you've seen him."

Tommy shook his head. "I'm sorry. Ms. Mcknight. But I haven't seen him since yesterday when he showed up to teach his class at the dojo."

There was a pause. "I thought he was working at the soccer store, Nets and things. I wasn't aware he'd taken up a job with you guys."

Tommy frowned. "He's been teaching the tumbling class for the younger kids since last year. He's one of the favorite teachers. I didn't know he held two jobs. I thought it was just the one. I don't understand why he'd need a second one."

There was another pause. "Well, I can think of one reason, and I hope I'm wrong."

Tommy kept his voice steady. "Let's not jump to conclusions just yet. It could be a lot of things. I'll call the dojo and see if we can't get to the bottom of what's going on."

"Thanks, Dr. Oliver."

"Don't mention it, I'll call you back when I find him."

Tommy ended the call and then hit the speed dial for Jason.

"Hey Bro what's up?"

"Hey Jase, have you seen Conner? His mother is looking for him…and something's just off. Have you seen him today?"

"Yeah man. He's here at the dojo. He could barely keep his eyes open last night and I offered him the chance to take a power nap up in the loft. I thought he'd gone home last night, but he's still here up here; he's sleeping like the dead. If I didn't know better, I would think he's not slept in weeks."

Tommy nodded. "Okay, now I'm starting to get concerned. Something is definitely up with him. If he wakes up, don't let him leave. I'll be right there."

"You got it, bro."

"Thanks Jase."

"See ya in a few."

Tommy ended the call and walked back into the nursery to see Kim just finishing up with their baby.

She looked up at him as he entered and frowned.

"Tommy, is everything okay?"

Her husband sighed heavily. "I'm not sure, Beautiful. I don't know what the situation is right now, I just know that Conner didn't go home last night and his mom is worried;I don't want to make any assumptions till I know for sure."

Kimberly gently smoothed the little tuft of hair on her baby's head that never seemed to lay flat. "Just keep me in the loop handsome. I'm going to prepare the guest bedroom just in case we have visitors."

"Your ranger sense tingling too?"

Kim smirked up at him. "Yes, Handsome. My spider sense is tingling…like a lot."

Tommy shook his head at his wife. "I'm heading out, I'll call you when I know something."

After sharing a brief kiss, he left the house, and was on the road minutes later.

* * *

 **30 minutes later**

Tommy walked into the dojo and was greeted by a dozen or more young students. He grinned at them and motioned for them to continue their class. He waved at Aisha who was teaching the intermediate classes and then moved onto the stairs where Jason was waiting with his arms across his chest.

"Has he woken yet?"

Jason nodded. Trini picked him up some Mc D's and he woke up the moment she walked in the room."

Tommy looked at him, "I think someone might need to head to Kira's house too. Something doesn't feel right and she may need a friend right now…maybe."

Jason gave him a long look. "What'cha thinking?"

"Besides Conner working himself to death, holding down to jobs, when he makes more than enough money here at the dojo. According to his mom, he's been with Kira a lot; I don't want to jump to conclusions before I talk to him and get the full story."

Jason nodded. "I'll just let you get to it then. Let me know if you need anything."

"Will do. Hopefully this is nothing big."

When he got up to the loft, he saw Conner picking at his sausage biscuit. He looked up as his mentor walked through the doorway.

"Dr. O?"

"Hey Conner, sleep well?"

The younger ranger veteran nodded. "Yeah, I feel great!"

Tommy sat down in the chair across from his former student. "Good, then you should have no problem telling me why you've been working two jobs and not telling anyone."

Conner grimaced and gave his mentor a weary glance. "I'm sorry, but I can't. Not without betraying Kira."

Tommy frowned. "You know that rule only applies to everyday situations. You remember how much trouble Trent got into before. if Kira's in some kind of trouble, then that rule is null and void. Whether we hold our dino powers or not, we're a team. I'm one of you and the one person in our inner group that can not only offer advice, but also assistance."

Conner sighed, realizing that Dr. O was making a very good point. He deflated under his mentor's sound logic.

"I'm trying to get Kira away from her gold digging mom. Kira and I have become lovers and she's my responsibility. I tried to find an apartment, but they require the tenant to make twice the amount of rent. Kira has to give all her money to her mother for rent or she could get thrown out…and I need to get her away from that hellhole."

Tommy's gaze darkened. "Damn it."

Conner narrowed his gaze. "You knew about this?"

"I suspected something more was going on than Kira said. As a teacher, I knew the signs to look for in abusive sitations. When Ms Ford actually showed up to Parent Teacher Confrenses, she wore brand name clothes, like more than just what you find at Walmart and Target. The only reason I know that is because I'm married to a Mall Rat. I've been on more than one shopping trip to those stores and know a brand name when I see one. It didn't make sense to me that her mom was wearing expensive clothing when Kira couldn't even afford school lunches."

Dr. O paused and looked at Conner whom had a stormy expression on his face.

"Before you start your diatribe, let me finish." He paused and Conner nodded. "I didn't start teaching here until just before your senior year. By the time I came to this conclusion, you guys had taken on the mantle. Originally I thought that Kira's eating habit was a result of her taking on the Great Power. During a battle, you're putting out a lot of energy. When you dimorph your body is ravenously hungry, that's not just limited to red rangers, though you, Rocky and Jason crave meat more than anyone. Anyway, when Kira came to school looking like she was starving, I had assumed that it was because of her ranger powers. I even pulled Kira aside and asked her about it and she put it up to her mom not making enough money to eat on. So Kimberly started sending food with me to school to give her, and I kept an extra watch on her during the day, when I could, just to make sure she was ok, that she wasn't going to pass out or anything. When we lost the power of the gems, I expected to see her eating habits go back to normal, though i made sure to keep an eye on all of you. Kira was almost worse than before. I wasn't sure before but now that you've just confirmed my suspicions, it's time to act."

Conner nodded accepting his mentor's words. "I've got almost enough for the deposit. I'm trying to get her out of there as fast as I can."

Dr. O nodded. "Good, but now that I know the situation, I can get you to your goal faster. Since Kira's not a minor anymore, I won't have to call authorities or anything. But we can have Kira out of there sooner than later."

"But where would we live?"

"That's something to work out once Kira's is out of danger. First things first."

Suddenly, Jason ran up the stairs and interrupting the conversation. "Trini just called me. You guys need to get to Kira's house and I mean right now. Shit just hit the fan."

Conner narrowed his eyes. "What's wrong?"

* * *

 **Kira's house**

Trini was a fast driver and for the moment, Kimberly was ever so thankful! By the Great Power, Trini could put Tommy's race car skills to shame! About 20 minutes after Tommy left, Trini had shown up to the house; it hadn't taken much to convince Kimberly to jump in the car. Thankfully, Trini and Jason's daughter, Amber was old enough to watch the children. After she pulled up to the curb, Kimberly hurried to join her best friend and with Aisha riding in the back seat, they raced for the Kira's house.

Just as they pulled up to the house, the front door opened and Kira stumbled outside with her mother following her. They watched in horror as the woman grabbed her daughter by the wrist, and then shoved her to the ground.

"Aisha, you getting this?" Kimberly asked.

"Yeah, Kim. I got this, let's go."

But Kim was already gone and halfway up the drive way. She marched with purpose towards Kira who was holding up her hand to fend off the woman who was now screeching at her, holding up the stick for her to see.

"So, this is what I get for choosing to keep you? A filthy hussy for a daughter? I should have aborted you when I got the option! You have been nothing but a burden to me from the moment you were born! You stayed in my house, ate my food and ran up my bills! I lost Charles because of you, I could have kept him around and lived the good life, but even he could see what a worthless shit you were"

"Mom, I'm not pregnant. I only thought I might be! The test came out negative!"

Unfortunately, Ms Ford was on a roll and wasn't listening to a single thing her daughter was saying. She reached down and grabbed Kira by the hair…but Kimberly was right there and her sudden voice made the mother suddenly look up at her.

"That's enough, Ms. Ford. You'll not harm another hair on Kira's head."

"Oh, it's you. You little cunt in a skirt. What the fuck do you think you're doing here?"

"Putting an end to this mess, I didn't know till know just how much you abused your daughter. You really are a waste of space, mistreating your child, one of the most precious gifts we get in this life. I'm here to take Kira out of here. She's not going to spend another night in this hell hole."

Ms. Ford glared at Kira. "Fine, it's one less burden for me to deal with. I lost enough money paying for her worthless ass all these years. I'm not going to lose more on some worthless bastard's child."

"Kimberly, it was negative, I'm not pregnant! I tried telling her that!"

"It's okay Kira, I'm here to rescue you."

"Hah! You're a little late for that!"

While Trini helped Kira to her feet, Kimberly got into Heidi's face.

"I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to this precious young woman you're so callously throwing away. I'm smarter than you think I am; I'm not blind to the way you starved Kira and took her money. I've known for a while that things were fishy with you. It was me who stepped in and did the job you were supposed to be doing! Instead of spending money on yourself, you should have been looking to the needs of your daughter first! Not spending your money trying too hard to look like a socialite!"

SLAP! Ms. Ford's hand hit the side of Kimberly's face. Kimberly's head snapped to the side with the force of the hit. Kira watched with hitched breath as Kimberly slowly turned her head to pressing a hand to her stinging cheek.

"Bad idea. You've just assaulted me and my friend has it all on tape. I should beat the ever living shit out of you for that, but I'm going to take the high road on this and simply walk away. She'll be getting a restraining order against you as soon as possible. I'm her mother now, and I won't tolerate you making any kind of threats against _my_ daughter, _I_ will make your life hellishly difficult…I've got an army to call on if I have to…you don't want to mess with me." Then, without another word, she turned to Kira.

Ms Ford is probably going to throw out everything you own. I'll take you clothes shopping after lunch, but is there anything in there that you can't live without?"

"Just my purse and a few pictures."

Kim nodded and turned back to Heidi. "My daughter's going to go in and get a few items that she doesn't want thrown out.

"Absolutely not. This bitch isn't welcome in my house anymore. Everything in there is now mine."

Kimberly frowned. "You know what, I was wrong. You're not a bitch, you're a fucking psycho!" Before any more insults could be thrown around, Kimberly turned around and walked back to the car with Kira following her.

When they were safely away from her house. Kira finally let the flood gates open and she cried out her frustration. Kimberly had switched seats with Aisha and as Kira let everything out, Kimberly called her husband.

"Hey handsome. We've got Kira and we're meeting up with you."

Mrs. O, is Kira okay?" She heard over the speaker.

"Yeah, Conner, I've got her now and she'll never see that psycho again."

You didn't beat her down right. Do I need to hire a lawyer?" Tommy broke in.

"Nope, I got it done without fists. But she'll know better than to mess with me."

"That's my Beautiful. Where are you going next?"

I'm going home, Kira needs some time to compose herself; it's been a rough morning for her."

"Gotcha Kim. We'll see you at home."

* * *

 **Oliver House**

Conner met them in the drive way. Kira was in his arms the moment the car stopped and he held her tightly kissing her fully on the mouth.

Tommy was a bit calmer as he and the other men helped their respective wives out of the car. Kimberly let her husband fold her into an intimate hug. He inhaled her scent and kissed her repeatedly. "Let's go inside, I know you've got a lot to tell us."

Kimberly nodded, leaving Kira and Conner to their own devices.

When they were all seated in the kitchen, Tommy kissed Kimberly one last time before joining everyone at the table.

Kimberly stood there, looking like a proud warrior as she gave the men a run-down of the morning's events.

Tommy's countenance was stormy as he listened to everything that happened.

"So, Beautiful. What's the next move? I'll go along with everything you decide."

Kim gave her husband a smile before she answered him. "Kira has lost everything but the clothes on her back. When we get a chance, she'll need to replace her important documents, we'll need a copy of her birth certificate, her social security card, and another ID card.

Tommy nodded. "Yeah, and Conner was planning to get an apartment; that's why he was working two jobs, and I'm all for helping him with that."

"Kira will need all her essentials replaced, so a trip to the mall is necessary. She paused to see if her husband would object. If you don't want to be on bag duty, you don't have to be."

Tommy shook his head. "It's okay Beautiful. She's never had a father in her life…now that you've unofficially adopted her, I'll do my part. I'll happily go to the mall with you guys."

Kimberly grinned at him. "Okay then, as soon as those two come up for air, we'll get some food and then head out.

"When Conner and I talked this morning, he told me the reason for his two jobs was that he was trying to get an apartment for them both. I'm all for helping them with that; he'll try to pay for everything himself…but he'll need that for their new space, once we get them settled in somewhere.

That sparked a memory for Kim and she gasped. "I almost forgot, I'll need to make a trip to Walmart to get a few things, girly things.

Tommy nodded. "I'll leave that to you. I have an idea as to what those things might be, so I'll stay out of it."

Jason was the next to speak. "You guys go ahead and take care of the love birds, the rest of us will work on the housing situation; is there anything else you need to do?"

Kimberly closed her eyes thinking for a moment. "Yeah. Find out what I need to do to get a restraining order started, I'm not giving that crazy woman a chance to get at my daughter. I want all the bases covered."

Jason nodded. "I'm on it."

Conner held Kira tight as she clung to him. They were currently sitting on the back porch and she had yet to look up into his eyes.

His mind was swirling with confusion. He'd heard some information from the phone call but he had more questions than answers. All he could do was rub her back in soothing circles and let her get the tears out of her system.

Finally, after a few more minutes had passed, Kira finally looked up at him.

"Are you ready to tell me what sparked the fight this morning?"

Kira nodded and rested against his chest again. "Hedi, my ex mother caught me with a pregnancy test. Please don't panic, I'm not pregnant. I thought I might be, but it came out negative. She didn't see that, all she saw was a test….she didn't even read it before she threw me out."

Conner grimaced. "That bitch won't get near you anymore."

"But she's got my stuff. My purse, my phone, the necklace you got me, I think she even has my high school ring that Trent helped me get. She'll sell off everything she can for money…god dammit. She's so fucking greedy and selfish!"

Conner smiled at her. "There's my Kira…just let it out. Rage all you want at her."

And she did, she raged and cursed and raged some more…and then she cried in his arms.

When at last she could cry no more. He wrapped her up in a hug and they just sat there on the porch swing, being quiet and letting the gentle sway of the swing lull them into a small mini nap.

About an hour later, they were gently woken up by Kimberly who had just opened the back door."

"Hey you two, it's time to leave. We've all got some shopping to do."

At that Kira frowned. "We do?"

Kim nodded. "Yeah, we need to replace everything that wicked witch took from you. Conner, I know you men hate bag duty, so you're off the hook."

Conner smiled and shook her head. "No, I'm perfectly fine with coming along."

Kimberly chuckled and shook her head. "Ok then. We leave in 5 minutes."

* * *

 **So, there you have it. Things are starting to really pick up for them.**

 **Please leave a nice review! They always brighten my day!**


	5. The Positive News

**And we're off again. LOL. Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Later, that night…**

It had been a long day of shopping; it was just after seven before they finally walked through the doors of the Oliver house. To Conner's surprise, the house smelled amazing.

He walked in the house after Kira and his eyebrows went up in to his hairline when he saw all the activity going on.

The guys were still there as if they'd never really left, and were currently working on making food for dinner. Trent and Ethan had joined them and were both pouring over the high end laptop that sat on the table.

They looked up as the intrepid shoppers walked into the kitchen. "Hey guys, I haven't seen you in a while."

Trent looked up at the both of them. "Yep, but from what I've heard, you've been busier than me. Jason called me over here to chip in. You know, if you're not careful while working those two jobs, you'll collapse one day. You may be the red ranger, but you're not Captain America."

Kira looked up in surprise at her boyfriend. "Two jobs? I thought you were only working at the Dojo."

Conner grimaced and glared at Trent before looking back at Kira. "I told you, Rock Star. I was going to do everything to get you away from that hell hole you were living rental price for apartments, even efficiency apartments are sky high these days."

Trent nodded. "Yeah, they are. You sure couldn't get one working at a fast food joint." He paused and looked down at his screen. "However, in this case, you're not going to have to work two jobs anymore."

Conner narrowed his eyes, "Trent, what did you do?"

Trent shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Nothing huge, like you're thinking. We're still a team, powers or no powers. I'm just doing my part for this plan to get Kira away from a bad environment. The place has never been lived in, and it still has that fresh coat of paint smell. If you'll agree to this, the rent would only be about three hundred bucks a month and the house is yours."

Kira's eyes widened and she looked up at Conner who was already nodding. Conner felt her eyes on him and he stopped himself. "Sorry Rock Star, we should probably discuss this as a couple first."

Behind him, Tommy let out a sigh of relief and Kimberly chuckled at her husband, remembering back to the famous incident where he decided to take off for NASADA without at least discussing the mission with her. He'd learned a very important lesson during those two very cold and lonely nights he'd spent on the couch. Dylan had been the only one who'd had any kind of idea that there was any kind of issue going on with their new parents.

Trent only nodded and then things picked up again when Kimberly quietly motioned for Kira to follow her.

When the women were gone, Conner walked towards the counter and sat down across from his teammates.

Jason chose that moment to join the conversation. "Hey Conner? I admire your determination to rescue your girl, you also need to understand the concept of Gung-ho. No man is an island, and as tough as we Red Rangers are, we still need help once in a while, especially for something like this. That's why I was willing to step aside and let Ethan and Trent help out. They can get things done faster than I can…not to mention the fact that they are your team mates."

Conner nodded. "That's fine with me. Kira is all that matters to me right now." Conner paused a moment and then looked at his friends. "If you're up to it, there is something more you can do for Kira."

Ethan looked up. "Like what?"

Conner told them what had happened at the Ford house that day. By the end of it, Ethan was seething and Trent had the look of a cool predatory hunter in his eyes.

"It's not the first time her mom took something like that from her. I know about the guitar she pawned; she moves fast."

Conner nodded. "Yeah, she does, but I just can't let her get away with this. I know I'm supposed to be an honest and good power ranger, but I want revenge for Kira's sake and I just can't let this go."

"It's not revenge you're after Conner; it's justice." Tommy said coming up behind him. "What Ms. Ford did was completely out of bounds and it was done out of pure greed and a desire to hurt the woman you love."

Conner looked up at his mentor and saw that his eyes bore the same anger as his own.

"You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us. Not only did that woman hurt a member of our team, but she hurt the young lady that is now my adoptive daughter. I know the anger you feel demands something crazy like breaking into her house and taking Kira's things back with a good egging of the Ford house thrown in just to get revenge, but that is not a good way to go about it."

At this, Conner deflated and sank into his chair.

"Oh, believe me, there will be justice." Kim said as she walked into the room. "I'm not done with that bitch yet." She paused and looked at the young men. "I know you've probably been told of my exploits at the youth center. But I've grown up a lot since then; I came to realize that beating people up, only serves to make me feel some satisfaction. In the long run, it doesn't solve any problems. But like Tommy said, I have a couple of ideas for dealing with that witch." She gave Conner a sympathetic look. "I know it will be hard for you, but right now you need to focus on Kira. She'll need you more than ever now." That was all Kimberly said before she walked into her husband's arms and he whispered something in her ears.

Connor gave them all a confused look before walking towards the master bathroom. His mind was immediately on Kira. He found her sitting on the side of the tub with her head in her hands.

"Kira? Are you okay?"

Kira didn't say anything and Conner was even more confused. He looked around the bathroom for clues and he paused, seeing three plastic little sticks by the sink. He glanced in the little windows and each one had a positive sign in them.

His breath hitched in his throat as he met his girlfriend's anxiety filled gaze. He took a big deep breath and then sat down next to her. After a moment, she leaned against his shoulder and he wrapped an arm around her.

"It's going to be ok, Kira. There's nothing we can't face together…even having a baby…being parents to him or her."

"I don't know what I'm doing. What if I turn out like my mother?"

"What, like Kim? That can only be a good thing."

"You know what I'm talking about. What if I become cruel and abusive, like _Her_?"

"That'll never happen. The both of us are Power Rangers. If you weren't a positive force for good, the yellow dino gem would never have chosen you. You are a loving, sweet, and strong woman; this baby of ours will be just as strong and sweet and loving as you are, with maybe a little of me mixed in just for some fun."

Kira couldn't help but chuckle at the last thing he said. He grinned at her and then pressed a kiss to her head. They sat like that for another minute before Conner spoke up again.

"Hey Babe, this tub is kind of hurting my butt. Can we move this to the spare bedroom?"

Kira chuckled quietly before lifting her head to meet her lover's gaze. They shared another kiss before he got up and held out his hand. They said nothing as they climbed the stairs to the spare room and cuddled up in the privacy of the room, with the door locked and just the two of them, contemplating what this newest revelation would mean for them and their futures.

"We're going to need to take Trent up on his offer." Kira said softly.

Conner nodded. "Yeah, I know. Before I would have said 'yes' because I wanted to rescue you from the witch; but now it's because we have a baby to prepare for. I'll also have to summon the courage to tell my parents about their future grand kid."

Kira smiled at him. "It's gonna be okay Jock, I'll be there with you."

* * *

 **The next morning**

 **6 am**

Conner descended the stairs and headed over to the coffee maker. He and Kira had spent the night wrapped around each other. At one point during the night, They had made love doing their best to be quiet; normally Conner would have felt guilty for indulging in sex in this place, where his mentor lived, but the both of them felt a little overwhelmed and just a little raw; their quiet coupling had been a way for them to reconnect, to shut out the world and to just bring things back to just the two of them. After they'd exhausted themselves, they'd both slept really well.

But now, as Conner quietly started up the coffee maker, he pondered this new path they were going down.

"You sure you want to drink that?" Dr. O stated as he made himself known. He was just emerging from the bedroom in his lounge pants and a black tank top. "It's really going make you hyper."

Conner shrugged as the coffee maker came to life. "That's what I loved about it. I needed it to keep up with work."

Tommy nodded. "So, a lot happened yesterday; is there anything you want to talk about?"

Conner sighed and leaned against the counter.

"No, not a lot. I'm just trying to figure out how I managed to get Kira pregnant."

Tommy hid his smile as he reached into the fridge and pulled out some bagels.

"Well Conner, there comes a time in every boy's life when he notices certain changes in his body…hormones take over and he finds his tes-."

"Oh god, please, Dr. O. I don't need the talk anymore. I learned enough from that sex ed class you gave.

Tommy laughed in amusement as he popped the bagels into the 4 slotted toaster and pushed the lever down. "Really, the fact that Principle Randal volunteered me for that class should have been the first indication of how evil she was. Nothing is more awkward than having to stand in front of your fellow rangers and students and tell them about the birds and the bees."

"Look, Dr. O, can we just not talk about that kind of thing?"

Tommy looked at him seriously. "The time for squeamishness is gone now, Conner. These next nine or so months are going to be full of that kind of thing and I'm just trying to prepare you for what to expect now that you and Kira are…"

"Really, it's okay Dr. O. We can figure this thing out on our own." With those words, he turned and almost sprinted out of the room.

Kimberly came out of the room minutes later and gave her husband a confused look.

"What just happened? What did you say to him?"

Tommy gave her an innocent look. "I was just trying to give Conner some advice since he's going to be a father. I guess he still hasn't recovered from that Sex Ed class I was forced to teach. I could have given him some really great insight too."

Kimberly wrapped an arm around him. "Aw, my poor Handsome; you still haven't recovered from that whole ordeal, have you?"

Tommy shook his head, trying his best to look pathetic. "No, can you make it all better?"

Kimberly shook her head. "You are insatiable Tommy."

"Only when it comes to you, Beautiful."

Kimberly laughed at him. "It'll be okay, Handsome. Let them find out all on their own. It'll be more fun that way."

Tommy kissed his wife's lips. "And they said I was the evil one."

Kimberly kissed her husband back. "Yep, but I was turned evil before you showed up. I guess that little bit of punk potion is still in my system."

Tommy got a mischievous look in his eyes. "Can you show me that?"

Kimberly gave him a long look. "Sure sweet lips, follow me up to my chamber."

Tommy's eyes widened and his eyes flashed green for the briefest moments.

"Whatever you say, my Empress."

* * *

 **Meanwhile, up in the guest room**

Conner sat in the bed next to Kira, who was still fast asleep.

He pulled out his cellphone and dialed Trent.

Thankfully, Trent was not a heavy sleeper.

 _"Hey, Conner. Have you and Kira made your decision?"_

"Yeah, we have. Kira's pregnant, so the house is going to be absolutely necessary."

Trent was quiet for a long time. _"Wow, that's really something…Congrats are in order?"_

Conner nodded. "Yeah, they are. It's pretty unexpected, but we're going to keep moving forward. Do our best to prepare for whomever comes along."

 _"Wow, okay then. As soon as I get some breakfast, I'll talk to my father and make it all legal. Then I'll come by later today."_

"Sounds good, dude. Thanks for this."

 _"You're welcome, Conner. Just go take care of our teammate."_

"Count on it. Later."

When Conner ended the call, he looked down to see Kira looking up at him. "I thought you were going to get some coffee?"

"Uh yeah, I was. And then Dr. O tried to teach me about hormones and stuff, it creeped me out."

Kira sat up in bed, taking a moment to cover up her bare torso. "Um yeah, Connor, about that. I'm just going to say it now: Hormones are going to be running rampant for the next 9 months. My body will be changing a lot as this baby gets bigger. It's going to affect me more than you, but you're going to sit through it with me. So, you might as well get over your aversion to it now; the sooner the better."

Conner was silent for a few moments as her words sank in. He closed his eyes for a moment and then nodded. "Yeah, Kira. You're right. I'm sorry."

"You're forgiven. Now, I'm going to go take a shower and then we're going to get something to eat, cause I'm starving." With those words, she got out of bed, stark naked and bent over to retrieve her yoga pants and tank top. When she stood back up she felt eyes on her and she turned around to see Connor staring at her.

Kira sighed and put her clothes back on before walking to the door. She shook her head at him and then walked out.

Conner smiled at her and got a devious look on his face. He waited a few minutes and then joined her under the spray.

* * *

 **Later that night…**

So, Conner, what did you need to tell us?" Lucy asked as she and her husband, Shamus reclined in the living room of the Oliver's home.

Kira slipped her hand into Conner's as they faced his parents.

"Kira's pregnant; we found out last night."

Lucy's eyebrows raised. "Are you sure?"

Kira nodded. "Yes, Ma'am, I am. I took three different tests and they all came back positive."

Shamus looked at his wife and then at Kira. "And what does your mother say about this?"

"Ms. Ford has disowned her." Kimberly said. "That's what I meant to tell you earlier. So, now I'm filling in that particular role. I was pretty surprised when I found out. As her new mother, I'm saying that this is a new path for them both to go down. I'm not going to hold their hands in this, but I'm going to at least help get them started; I'm hoping you'll both be on board with this."

Lucy grimaced. "That bitch, she hasn't changed at all."

Kimberly narrowed her eyes. "You know her?"

Lucy nodded. "She was my rival. She's the lowest kind of bully and from what you just said, she hasn't changed at all. I'm only sorry that Kira has had to put up with her."

"Not anymore. I would like to discuss this further when we're done talking with the these two. Maybe the both of us can put our heads together and find a way to get justice and to finally put that bitch in her place."

Lucy nodded. "I'm in. But for now, we're not finished grilling the kiddos." She leveled her gaze at her son. "So, what's your next move? You've got 9 months to get your act together."

Conner looked unshaken. "We've found a house and I'll go back to the one job at the dojo. In the meantime we'll both continue working our jobs until Kira goes on maternity leave. We'll just have to slowly make the house a home as much as we can. I don't have any plans outside of that for now."

Shamus nodded. "It's a good plan. I do hope you plan to go with her to all her doctor's appointments too. Have you talked to your work?"

"That's already covered." Tommy interjected. My friends and I own the dojo. He's only teaching the beginners class and and helping out with some of the intermediate students as a sparing partner for them. There's not a single one of us that can't fill in for him when he's at an appointment or when the baby comes."

Conner nodded. "I'll be there at every single one." He turned to Kira. "That's a promise."

* * *

So, what did you guys think of this? Let me know in the review section!

I know I haven't posted this in a while, but for all you new fans and readers, I do have a Facebook page where I hold court and if you should want to keep up with any news concerning my fanfiction, you may find the link on my profile page.

Until then, catch you all later!


	6. 9 Months Montage

**Hey Everyone, I hope everyone had a great holiday season. This will be the last chapter of this story. Only the Epilogue remains and that will hopefully be up in a few days.**

 **In doing this chapter, I was unsure of how to cram 9 months of events into one chapter. I had never meant for this to be a long fic, but there were some events that were just too good to leave out, so I had to pick and choose which ones to include. This chapter is the final result.**

 **Thank you all so much for the support and for your patience.**

 **I self edited this chapter so all mistakes are my fault.**

 **Enjoy and please leave me a nice review when your done!**

* * *

 **March 2009**

 **Mariner bay, California,**

A few days later….

Conner and Kira sat nervously in the waiting room at the Aquabase. They'd never really been outside Reefside before and especially not this far underwater. Kimberly and Tommy sat next to them looking perfectly at ease.

Finally, Dana walked out of the room and approached them with a smile on her face. Kimberly got up to greet her.

"Kimberly Oliver, it's so nice to see you again! I'm so glad you could make it here!"

"Hey Dana, Thank you so much for penciling us in."

"For a member of the family, anything." Dana then looked over at Kira. "And this is your daughter?"

Kimberly gave her daughter an encouraging look. "Kira, this is Dr. Grayson she is the pink ranger from the Lightspeed rescue team, and a very good friend of mine."

Kira got up and walked to her. "Hi, I'm Kira Oliver."

Dana gave her a warm smile. "Welcome to the Aqua base. Now that introductions are out of the way, you can follow me back to my exam room." She looked back at the guys, "When the main exam is done, I'll bring back Conner to do the sonogram."

When they were gone, Tommy carefully adjusted his sleeping daughter on his chest. She was much like her father in the way that she was a very heavy sleeper. Being jostled around didn't wake her up at all. Conner watched them for a minute and Tommy smiled at him.

"You want to hold her for a minute? It's great practice."

"I don't know, Dr. O. I'm scared that I might hurt her…or drop her."

Tommy shook his head. "This is going to be the norm for you when the baby gets here. You may as well get used to it now."

Conner reluctantly nodded and Tommy carefully handed her over. "Just make sure you support her head and hold her close to you till you get more comfortable with her weight; she doesn't weigh more than a bag of flour."

Conner chuckled once he held the baby in his arms. "Hey, this isn't so bad."

Tommy shook his head. "No, at least not when she's asleep."

Conner nodded. "It's hard to believe that this will be me in less than a year."

Tommy was nodding. Yep, and this is just the beginning. For the next 18 years, you and Kira will be responsible for this little life you've made. This baby will be a child of two rangers; and will be just as feisty as Kira and as headstrong as you are. That should make for some interesting times." Just then, Kimberly walked toward him with a happy smile on her face. "Go ahead Conner, they're waiting for you. This is a special moment, so it's just for the two of you."

Carefully handing the baby back to Tommy, Conner got up and headed to the exam room to see Kira laid out on a table with her belly exposed. She grinned up at him.

"Hey Rock star. You ready for this?"

Kira nodded. "Yep, Dr. Grayson wanted to wait for you to get in here before she scans."

Conner grinned as he stood on the other side of the bed holding his girlfriend's hand. They watched as the lights were dimmed a little bit and the machine was turned on. Moments later, the fetal monitor was turned on and then on the screen, a fuzzy picture began to develop. Moments later, Kira's womb could be seen and there in the middle of the picture, was a newly formed fetus.

"It looks like an alien." Connor commented.

"Dana nodded. "Yeah, right now it does. But it won't stay that way for long. The heart is already starting to beat." She pointed to the screen and they could see a little movement.

"Can we hear it?"

Dana shook her head. "No, not yet. You're a little over 6 weeks along, and the heart beat won't be audible until around your 12th week. But it's definitely a baby; by my estimate, he or she was conceived some time at the end of January."

Kira had tears in her eyes. "It's beautiful! Conner, that's our baby."

Conner kissed her lips. "You bet; and we're going to be great parents to it."

Dana backed away for a few minutes as she printed out two copies for them. When she returned she saw them in the midst of a sweet kiss. A moment later they parted and looked up at her.

"Well, are there any questions for me? Now's the time to ask; don't be shy." She asked as she handed Kira a towel to wipe the goo off her belly.

"When will we know her gender?" Asked Kira.

"Anywhere between 4 and a half to 5 months or longer. If the baby is willing to cooperate, we'll know then."

"What about a due date?" Conner asked.

"I'm thinking we're going to shoot for December 15. Just before Christmas, though it may sooner with how petite you are. Around the 8 month mark, we'll know for sure and take any special precautions and it depends on how the baby is growing. What I want to do, once we're done here, is to set you up on a schedule to see me once a month, just to keep up to date on your baby's growth process. Make sure you get at least 30 minutes of exercise, like taking a quiet walk around the neighborhood or a swim once in a while. Yu shold also start taking some pre-natal vitamins every morning. Since you don't have a doctor close by, I'll go ahead and prescribe them myself.

Kira grinned at Conner. "Ok, let's do it."

Conner nodded and kissed her again. "Yep, I'm game."

Dana nodded, going back to her desk to get her prescription pad. "That's wonderful, let me just get your packet together."

* * *

 **May 2009**

 **Reefside Dojo**

"Dr. O? Can I talk to you a second?"

Tommy looked his student over as he stood back from the punching bag at the Dojo. Conner looked like he was kind of nervous.

"I don't know if a second would cover what you need to discuss. Is this about my daughter, Kira?"

Conner nodded and walked further into the gym. "Yes, sir."

Tommy grabbed the towel from the rack on the wall and used it to wipe the sweat from his face. A moment later, he waved Conner over. When they were both seated on the small but comfortable seats, Tommy gave his former student a nod. "Okay, I'm all ears."

Conner took a deep breathe. "I'm asking for your permission, as Kira's adoptive father, to marry her. I'm not just doing it because we're going to have a baby. I had planned to do this all along, but right now seems like the right time."

Tommy fought his grin. "Well I'm glad you came to me to ask permission. It shows that you respect her, but, before I give permission, you're going to have to prove yourself to me; Earn her hand."

Conner gave him a confused look. "Ok, what do I have to do?"

Tommy gave him an evil look. "Fight me... One on one. If you win, you'll have earned my permission."

"That's insane! You're the legendary power ranger. You'll beat me to a pulp!"

Tommy shrugged his shoulders. "Is this your answer? What happens if some loser with my kind of skills tries to hurt Kira. Are you really going to just back off or will you challenge him? How can I know you'll keep my daughter safe?"

"Kira is more than able to take care of herself."

Tommy shook his head. "Nope, not when she's carrying around a baby inside her. When she reaches her 6th month, she's not going to be any match for a full grown man trying to take advantage of her. You're going to have to do better than that."

Conner sighed for a moment, but he only hesitated a moment before taking off his shoes and grabbing a pair of MMA gloves and joining his soon to be father in law on the mat.

"Fine, let's do this."

Tommy nodded in approval. "Good. Let's do this."

10 minutes later, Tommy dropped to the floor and Conner had him in an arm bar.

He tapped a second later and Conner released him.

"You totally let me win!" He accused his teacher.

"Duh Conner. It's taken me years to get this experienced. But I wasn't going to make it too easy for you. You've passed my test and you have my permission. Get out of here."

Conner shook his head. "Is this what you had to do to get Jason's permission?"

Tommy chuckled. "Yep and he really made me work for it too."

"Yeah, but we were evenly matched too" Jason said from edge of the mats.

Tommy chuckled and nodded his head. "Yep, and I felt those punches for a while. Jason hits really hard. But I got his permission just like you have."

Conner nodded and bowed to his teacher and then hurried out the door.

Jason slapped Tommy on the back. "Come on, did I really hurt you that badly?"

Tommy took the water bottle his friend offered. "Nope, but I wanted him to feel like he'd really earned it. That way, he'll appreciate my daughter even more. I may even make it a tradition among us rangers. You know, for when your own daughter gets a boyfriend."

Jason laughed incredulously. "What boyfriend?"

* * *

 **Conner and Kira's new house**

 **Later that night…**

Conner and Kira lay in bed cuddling together; they'd just shared a pizza and were now enjoying some quiet time alone.

Conner leaned forward to kiss his girlfriend. She smiled and returned the kiss, this time, she took it even further and crawled onto his lap, straddling his legs. Conner knew what would come next. This wouldn't be the first time she rode him like this.

"Wait, Rock star. I need to ask you something."

Kira sighed and sat back. "Ok, what's up?"

Conner took her hand between his and kissed her palm. "Marry me?"

Kira was taken back. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, I am. I talked to your dad today and after making me face him in a one on one fight, he gave me permission to ask you. I want to do this the right way." Saying this he reached over to the nightstand and pulled a black box out of the drawer. He opened the box and handed it to her.

"Conner, it's beautiful!"

"Nothing compared to you. It's part of a matching set, the other part is an actual wedding ring. I'm serious about this and about you. Please marry me?"

"I'm serious about you too. It's just so cliché. People are going to make all kinds of assumptions and rumors will go flying around and-"

Conner kissed her heatedly and then sat back. "Who gives a shit what people say? This is about me and you. The rest of them can take a long walk of a short cliff. I wanted this even before we made a baby."

That was enough to shut Kira up and she looked into Conner's eyes and saw nothing but sincerity.

She felt a tear escape her eyes…and yet Conner looked into her eyes patiently. She felt her walls cave in.

"Yes, Conner. The answer is yes. Though I don't know how we'll afford such a lavish thing when we have a baby on the way."

Conner shrugged. "Who says it has to be lavish? I'd be happy to marry you on the docks in front of the Great Reef Lodge. I'll wear a simple dress shirt and slacks and you can go pick out something from the mall and we'll have a party in the restaurant. I just want you to be my wife."

 **August 2009**

 **The McKnight's new house**

Tommy lay down his baby girl in her travel crib and joined his wife and their new in-laws. Conner and Kira had phoned them the night before to meet them here for a special dinner. When they got there they saw that the newly-weds had gotten take out from The Olive Garden which they weren't going to complain about. It was damn good food anyway and Kimberly didn't miss the symbolism either.

Once parental units had filled up on excellent italian food, Conner and Kira gave them the news.

"I had my 6 month check-up today and we know what we're having."

Lucy grinned at them. "Well, don't keep us in suspense!"

Conner grinned at them and looked at Kira who was just glowing with excitement.

"We're having a girl."

Lucy stood up and rushed to Kira's side, pulling her into a giant hug. "Oh Kira, I'm so happy for you! I'm can't wait to meet my grand-daughter!"

Kimberly waited for Lucy to sit down again before she got up and wrapped Kira up in her own warm hug. "This is great! Have you thought of any names yet?

Conner nodded. "Yeah, we really like the name, Danni."

* * *

 **September 2009**

It was the day of Kira's baby shower. The women were out in the back yard of the Oliver house and Conner was indulging in a favorite past time. He was snoring softly on one of the couches. He startled awake when he felt the couch dip.

He opened his eyes blearily to see Tommy sitting next to him.

"I'd ask you why you seem so sleepy, but I'm not sure I want to know.

Conner shook his head. "Nope, not complaining at all, I'm just sleepy because Kira woke me up at 2 am because she had a craving for something. I think last night it was Chocolate ice Cream and a hamburger. But we were out of both so I made a trip to Walmart. After that, when I got home she was sleeping with the AC on…it was down to 50 degrees and I was freezing. I ended up taking a hot shower and then wearing flannel pj's to for the night."

Tommy couldn't hold back his chuckle. "Ah, yes, gotta love the food cravings. When it was Kim's turn she had to have pickles and chocolate smoothies from Haley's Thankfully, Haley took mercy on me and shared her recipe with me. I had to buy the ingredients in bulk from the store, but it was worth it when I was able to sleep longer. Which came in handy for those other times that I'll never explain to you."

"So, how did you get everything in bulk?"

Tommy smiled. "Sam's club is a wondrous place. Come on. The girls will be partying for a while. Let's get you signed up."

* * *

 **November 2009**

 **Black Friday**

Kira sat in a wheelchair as they shopped at the Reefside mall. Kira had just hit her 8 month mark and was very round with their baby. She'd balked at first when Kimberly suggested it. But Dana had been adamant about Kira staying off her feet for the next two months. Kira had tried so hard to abide by the rules and stay home, but within a week she'd been going stir crazy and had begged Kimberly to come and rescue her.

It had taken some convincing for Kira to use the chair but eventually, she acquiesced and now was glad she did. This chair was motorized and allowed her to enjoy the Black Friday sales. Things were going great, even with the crowds, there were many well wishes and congratulations in the mommy store they'd gone to. It was currently lunch time and they were on their way out to the food court when they heard a familiar voice.

They were just passing yet another clothing store when they heard a familiar voice.

"What do you mean I'm declined? I just got this new credit card. Where is your manager?"

Kimberly grinned evilly and walked into the store just staying off to the side.

I _am_ the manager, Ms. Ford. This card has been flagged since it's been reported as stolen."

"Stolen! What a bunch of bull shit. I ordered that card myself. It came in the mail just yesterday."

The man gave her a long look. "Yeah, but you just showed your ID. It says Heidi Ford. This card says Kira Ford on it."

"Yeah, I'm her mother. She gave me permission to borrow it."

Kimberly was just about to reveal herself, when Kira took the initiative. She wheeled over to the shocked thief and looked up at her snarling ex-mother

"No, you're not. You fucking threw me out of the house almost 9 months ago. You refused to let me get my purse and wallet with all my information in it, including my social security card. You also verbally disowned me and we got it all on tape." Saying this, she paused and turned to the Manager. "I'm Kira McKnight formerly Kira Ford. Kimberly Oliver is my mother now. I didn't give this woman permission to do anything, let alone use my information to get this credit card. She's stolen my identity."

"Why you viscous little liar!" Heidi snarled before she slapped Kira hard.

Kira growled and put a hand to her face.

Kimberly, however only had a satisfied smirk on her face. She marched up to Heidi and pulled a legal paper out of her purse. "This is a restraining order granted by the city of Reefside. You've just violated it." She turned to the manager. "Mindy, would you mind calling security for me?"

Mindy gave Heidi a disgusted look, before pulling a phone out of her pocket. "Yeah, I'm on it."

Seeing her former mother escorted out in handcuffs was so very satisfying for Kira and she later celebrated with Kimberly with a trip to Starbucks.

"Remind me never to make you angry." Kira said after sipping her Frappuccino.

Kimberly grinned at her. "That dumb money grabber was way too easy to read, I had a feeling she would try something like that. I just had to follow through with the restraining order. Meeting her at the mall was not planned, but never say I don't take advantage of the moment, although Conner's mom will hate that she missed this." Kimberly paused and gave Kira a proud smile. "And you Miss Kira; You totally kicked ass today. I couldn't have handled that better myself."

Kira had no idea what to say to the glowing praise. So she grinned and grimaced a second later when she was reminded of the bruise on her cheek.

"We should probably go home and put some ice on that."

Kira nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready to go anyway."

To say Conner was upset when he saw his wife's cheek would be an understatement. It took Kira some time to get him settled down, assuring him that they would get their day in court and that Kimberly was already on the warpath with plans to press charges and probably even bring a lawsuit against her former mother for pain and suffering.

"Ok, Rockstar. I get it. Let's just focus on us for right now." He closed his eyes and took a few breaths to center himself. When he opened his eyes he saw Kira was looking up at him with emotional eyes. He smiled at her and knelt down helping her out of her shoes.

"I so can't wait to be able to see my feet again."

Conner grinned at her. "Well, we're almost there; one month to go unless our daughter gets impatient and decides to come early."

At this point, I wouldn't be mad about it. I'm ready for her to come already."

Conner grinned and kissed her lips. "I bet you are. I don't envy you at all." He paused as he took her shoes off and set them aside. "So, let's get you upstairs and see what you bought today."

When he held out a hand to help her up, she stopped him. "Are you sure you're okay with this…all this waiting on me hand and foot?"

Conner gave her a confused look and then seemed to catch up to her. "I'm fine with this, all of this. You're my wife, I knew what I was getting into when I married you; this just comes with the territory and if it makes you feel better, after the baby is born and you've recovered, then you can return the favor. But for now, let me look after you, okay?"

Kira nodded and then looked up at him with bedroom eyes. When he leaned in, she pressed a hot kiss to his lips and he let her, having seen this coming a mile away. Her first mood swing had caught him off guard, and it had led to their first fight, but after talking with Dr. O who had explained everything, he'd learned to recognize the pattern, so now he pretty much just went along with it.

"Hey, I'm perfectly okay with where this is headed, but first let's get you upstairs and maybe into a nice hot shower, and then we can have some fun in bed, okay?"

Kira kissed him hotly and he let her for a few minutes before ending it and leading her to the bathroom.

The next morning, as they lay cuddled together, the phone rang.

Conner yawned and blinked a few times before picking up his cellphone.

Yeah, what's up?"

"Conner McKnight. I sure hope you have a good reason for being late to work today." Tommy said in a firm voice.

Conner blinked some more and then looked over at the alarm clock. Then he sighed loudly. "Sorry, Dr, O. I'll be right there."

* * *

 **December 8, 2009**

 **McKnight House**

Conner helped an exhausted Kira out of the little plastic pool while Ms. Sofia, the Midwife cleaned their new baby daughter up. It had been decided months before, that because there was no insurance set up yet, that they would have a home birth. Dana had been there for them and had called in her favorite teacher and mentor for help. The retired doctor had been clued in on the situation, and had agreed to do this without charge. For the last couple of days, she'd stayed close to the house, staying in a nearby motel, waiting for the big event to happen. Finally, late into the evening, Kira had gone into labor. Now, a few hours later, a sweet baby girl had been born.

Once Kira was cleaned up and resting in their bed, the sniffling infant was laid on her chest.

"Well, Congrats Conner and Kira, it's a healthy baby girl. She's about 6 pounds even and just over 18 inches long.

Kira brushed a tear away as the baby opened her eyes for a second and looked at them both. She sniffled again and then yawned.

"My god, she's beautiful!" Conner whispered.

Kira nodded and kissed the baby's head which sported soft brown hair. "Conner, she's perfect!"

Sophie gave them a few minutes to fawn over their child as she wrote out the information on the certificate.

"So, what's her full name?"

Conner couldn't tear his eyes away from his new daughter. "Danielle Lynette McKnight."

Conner kissed her softly. "Our parents are still downstairs. Would you mind if I went and gave them the news?"

Kira shook her head. "That's fine. As soon as I feed her, you can bring them up."

Conner grinned and kissed her again. I love you, Rock Star."

"Love you too, Jock."

* * *

 **So, there you have it, the new baby girl is there and we have come to the end of this story, up next is the epilogue and I know you'll all enjoy it!**

 **Credit for the new baby's name goes to Fanficrulez.**

 **Please, leave some feedback for me! It really keeps me going!**


	7. Epilogue- Like Mother, Like Daughter

**Here, we go, the epilogue is here, at last. I know this fic hasn't been such a huge hit if the reviews are anything to go by. But I want to thank those that had read this fic and favorited/followed it. The reviews really helped me keep this going.**

 **This epilogue comes with a brief lemon warning.**

 **This was loads of fun to write, and I hope you all like it too.**

* * *

 **Epilogue**

 **6 Years Later**

 **December 5, 2015**

 **10am**

"Conner, we don't have time for this!" Kira giggled. "We gotta pick our daughter up in an hour!"

Kira was trapped against the tiles in their shower as Conner held her hands above her head and playfully nipped at her neck.

"That's why it's called a quickie. Did you think I'd let a beautiful sexy woman such as yourself out of my sight without properly saying good morning?"

Kira gently bucked against him. "And the wake-up call you gave me this morning doesn't count, why?"

Conner chuckled as he sucked on her neck. "Because, I didn't get to see your face when you came for me. Are you really going to fight me?"

Before she could answer he had hoisted her leg up on the side of the tub and gently slipped through her folds.

Kira didn't get to answer, but when he let go of her hands to hold her steady, she wrapped her arms around his neck, as she harshly panted against his neck. He grinned against her neck and then looked up at her. "Come on Rockstar, I've missed hearing those sexy sounds; we're totally alone right now."

For the next little while, the bathroom was filled with her moans and pants as Conner made love to her and then all at once, her loud cry echoed against the tiles as she came loudly.

Conner held her steady as he followed her over the edge.

When at last they had both calmed down, he gently pulled out and settled her on her feet again.

Kira kissed him softly as she rested against him.

A moment later, he kissed her back and then looked into her eyes.

"Good morning, Rockstar."

Kira chuckled in a post-coital haze. "Morning Jock."

Conner kissed her once more and then reached around her to grab the shampoo.

"I guess we better get showered. We do have to pick up our little girl."

Kira giggled at him again and took the bottle, "Yeah, we do."

* * *

About 20 minutes later, Conner stepped out of the shower with his towel wrapped around his waist. He was still smiling as his cellphone started ringing on the nightstand. Crossing to his side of the bed, he looked down at the screen and frowned.

It was his father in law. His brow furrowed as he swiped to the left and lifted the phone to his ear.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Conner, you and Kira need to get down to the school. It's not too serious, but Danni got onto her first fight on the playground; apparently my precious daughter was right in the thick of it with her."

It had been decided that the two girls would attend preschool together. So, Tommy and Kimberly had waited a year so Danni could catch up to her cousin. (They wouldn't tell her until she was older about Samantha being her aunt, to avoid confusing the little girls.) By kindergarten, they were thick as thieves.

Conner sighed. "Well, this should be interesting…I'll go ahead and let Kira know and we'll be right there."

"I'll stick around till you get here."

Conner sighed and shook his head. "Sure thing, Doc. Bye now."

When Conner hung up, he turned to see Kira looking at him curiously.

"Is everything okay, Jock?"

Conner smirked. "Yeah, nothing major, I'm not sure how to tell you this, but our little girl has most definitely taken after you in the trouble department. We gotta go pick her up early."

Kira arched an eyebrow at him. "Really? This is the trait you're saying she got from me?"

Conner nodded. "Yeah, and I'm not insulting you since we all met in detention. She got into a playground fight of some kind and Sammi was right there with her."

Kira chuckled and shook her head. "Ok, I'll give concede this time. That's one detention I don't regret at all." She paused and smiled at him. "Just get dressed and we'll go pick up our little fighter."

* * *

 **Reefside Elementary**

Conner held his wife's hand as they walked into the principle's office. Tommy and Kimberly were sitting there with Sammi and Danni. The latter jumped off her grandpa's lap as they walked in.

Conner immediately scooped her up. "What happened Danni?"

The little 6 year old hugged his neck and kissed his cheek. "Daddy, that mean second grader took my ball! He told me girls don't play soccer, then he pushed me down!" She held up her hand. He gave me owies, only Miss. Stephanie the nurse cleaned 'em with soap!"

Kira examined her hand and then looked at Principle Mathis. "This is why she's in trouble?"

The principle shook his head. He was an older man in his early 50's with a receding hairline. "No, not entirely. At some point during the confrontation, she and Samantha kicked his shin so hard that they left a bruise."

Kira looked at her daughter. "Is that what happened? Did you kick that boy?"

Danni nodded. "Yeah, but he told me that girls can't play soccer and he took the ball we were playing with!"

Conner shook his head and gave Kira a look before addressing the principle again. "And what's the procedure for kindergarteners?"

Nothing more than a bad mark in her behavior folder, since this is her first offense. Next time though, it will be a time out. So, I'd suggest giving her a serious talking to when you get home. The both of them are such good kids otherwise and very smart. I'd rather not see a repeat of this particular behavior."

Kira nodded and then asked. "what of the bully. Surely you don't mix the classes during recess?"

The older man shook his head. "The other boy wasn't supposed to be there, he was AWOL from his classes and shouldn't even have been there. Rest assured he didn't get off so easy; his own parents have been called and he was sent home already."

"That's good," Kira said, " I hate when boys get away with it."

"We don't tolerate fighting, for any reason. The only exception is of course, self-defense."

Tommy nodded. "Of course, Mr. Mathis. Are we done here? I'd like to get my daughter home. We had some errands to run today."

Mr. Mathis nodded and pulled out the two behavior folders. "I just need you to sign the discipline note and then you're free to go."

Once that was done and they were in the parking lot, they parted ways with Conner carrying Danni to the mustang. When they got home, they had another talk between them. Conner lifted Danni onto the counter.

"Danni, we love you very much, but we can't have a repeat of today again. I know that bully was a meanie and made you angry, but kicking him in the shins wasn't the way to get back at him."

"He told me girls can't play soccer!"

Conner wanted to chuckle, but he held it back. "I know, and he was wrong about that, you can play soccer all you want. But next time he or anyone picks on you, just go find a moniter and tell her what happened. That way she can handle the bully and you won't end up with skinned hands, okay?"

"I'm sorry, Daddy….does this mean I can't have my birthday party?" She asked with watery eyes.

Conner narrowed his eyes. He drew her into his arms and kissed her hair. "No sweetie, I don't know where you got that idea from." He pulled back and looked at her in the eye. "Your mom and I love you so much. The day you were born, we were so happy! We'll never _not_ celebrate your birthday. This is just a warning though, next time you get into a fight there will be a punishment, okay?"

Danni nodded. "Okay Daddy, next time I'll get Ms. Jacki."

Conner nodded. "Good girl, now. I think Mommy needs a hug from you."

Danni gave him another hug before all but jumping into her mother's arms.

* * *

A few hours later, while Danni was taking her afternoon nap, Conner and Kira were cuddling on the porch swing.

"God, Conner. You were right. She totally takes after me. She doesn't take crap from anyone, especially some mean boy pushing her in the dirt."

She's a strong beautiful girl just like her mother. I'm not the least bit surprised at what happened today."

Kira chuckled and kissed him. "I feel sorry for the first boy who tries to put the moves on her."

Conner growled. "Never gonna happen. Just let me at him with my Tyranno staff. She's not going to date until she's 20."

Kira only laughed and kissed him, knowing better than to say anything to egg him on. She was a little more mature than her husband, one day her daughter would be a teenager and go down her own broken road to get to her true love. But for now, she would simply sit back and enjoy watching Danni be a kid…and when the time came, help smooth things over when the first unlucky boyfriend was brought home. Thankfully, there was at least 15 years till then…God, she hoped it was at least 15 years.

 _"Please, at least be 15 years from now…."_

 **The End**

* * *

T **his most likely will be stand alone, I don't see any reason for a sequel, at least not right now.**

 **I had planned to write a christmas one shot, but I don't see it happening now.**

 **Anyway, thanks for sticking around. See you guys in the next fic!**

 **-Slytherensangel26**


End file.
